Corruption and Desperation
by Datrandomcat
Summary: The sirens are finally back in Equestria, and they are somewhat getting the hang of all the friendship stuff. But now there's another threat rising, and she plans to use the sirens as her pawns in order to achieve her goal.
1. Prologue

**And so begins the sequel of After the Battle! I know this is short, but it's only the prologue. This is just supposed to be a quick little thing of the story, and kind of a hint.**

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She narrowed her eyes as she watched the three sea creatures in the water, constantly jumping high into the air before plummeting back down with a large splash.

"So, it's true that they're back…" She said, resting behind the rock she was using as cover from their view. _I never thought I'd see the day. Oh, how fortunate for me! And once I convince them to join me, I will be _unstoppable! _Not even Celestia will be able to stop me! _She chuckled to herself over her ingenious plan. Then, suddenly, a shriek fill the air, and it was ear-splittingly terrible. Her ears went back in an attempt to shield themselves from the awful noise. She growled, looking at the source. The orange one of the three. She was…singing? "What's this…?" She asked aloud in confusion. "I thought they were known for their beautiful voices. _That_ is not even _close_." She growled. _Hmm…perhaps I'll need to investigate them further. Maybe there's something I don't know… _She looked at them, thankful that the orange one had stopped with the racket. _Either way, they will make great allies. _She stood up and began walking away, a sick, twisted grin on her face. _Then…_nothing_ will be able to stand in my way! I just need to find out how to go about getting them to join me. Then, I will take over this pathetic pony population, and Equestria will be _mine_! _She laughed evilly as she stalked away, heading back to her dwelling.

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**So, who do you think it is? Any guesses?**


	2. The Dolphins

**Yay! First chapter! Enjoy!**

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"Can't catch me, Ari!" Sonata taunted with a laugh as she darted away from the purple siren. Aria smirked and darted after her. Adagio watched them from the rocks, chuckling as the two flew about in the air. Recently after her return to Equestria, Aria and Sonata happily reinstated Adagio as their leader once again. It had only been a couple weeks since the day she came back home, but she was already looking better. Her ribs were still showing, and she still looked like crap, but she was slowly returning back to her former beautiful glory.

"Hey, Dagi, you alright?" A voice suddenly said. Adagio looked up to see Aria and Sonata looking at her with slight concern.

"You seem bored and lonely over here." Sonata said as she flew over to her leader and playfully hung upside down in the air in front of her face. "Wanna join us?!" She asked excitedly. Adagio smiled softly.

"No, I'm fine. You two go have fun." She said, booping Sonata's nose with her own. The blue siren smiled a bit but sighed, disappointment evident in her eyes as she nodded. She flew back over to Aria, who shot one last glance of concern at Adagio before instigating another play-chase with Sonata. Adagio sighed contently, resting her head on the rocks and curling her tail around herself. _Ever since coming back, I've never felt more at peace... _A small smile appeared on her face. _And the bond between the three of us has never been stronger._

~o~

Aria and Sonata swam together quietly through the water, finally tired from chasing each other around. Aria had her eyes closed, following the feeling of the currents Sonata was creating as she swam to guide her. She was listening to her surroundings, her ears turning every which way. She focused on the comforting sounds around her. The movement of the slow currents, the sound of bubbles, and even the distant sound of a whale's song every now and then. The natural ambiance of the ocean was one of the things she missed the most while she was gone. It comforted her.

"Hey, Aria?" The purple siren's eyes slowly fluttered open, and she saw Sonata looking at her curiously.

"What?"

"Have you noticed something...off about Adagio, lately?" She asked. Aria tilted her head.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's just...she never really does much. She's always lying down, and she never wants to play. Do you think...something's wrong with her? She's never had so little energy before..." Sonata said worriedly. Aria gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, Dusky. She probably doesn't have much energy because she's still a little weak. I mean, she was practically half-dead when we found her! But not only that, she's probably still trying to cope with being back in Equestria. She didn't exactly get a warm welcome. Quite the opposite, in fact. It may take some time to adjust before we're all fully comfortable again. And it may take even longer to gain everyone's trust again." Hearing this, Sonata nodded in understanding, but still seemed a little unsure.

"Well, w-" Sonata began, but was cut off when they heard a strange clicking sound. They both perked and rotated their ears, trying to find the source. Then, suddenly, a couple creatures whizzed by, causing the two sirens to jerk backwards in surprise. "What was that?!" Sonata gasped.

"I don't know." Aria said with a growl, ready to protect herself and Sonata if she had to. Her pupils narrowed as she scanned the water around them. Then, the same thing happened again. "What th-" Aria said as she turned around, but as she did so, she found herself face-to-face with one of the assailants. It's face was only inches from hers. She blinked in surprise as it clicked at her happily. "A...dolphin?" She said, looking at the gray animal. Then, it was joined by a second one. Sonata gasped.

"Dolphins!" She shrieked happily. She swam up to them, and they turned their attention to her. They both clicked at her. She giggled. "Aww, they're so cute!"

"I know what you're going to say, and the answer is 'no'..."

"Aw, Ar-"

"No. You have Steven. That's enough."

"But I don't have a _water_ companion!"

"And you don't need one."

"Aww..." Sonata said sadly. Suddenly, one of the dolphins went up to her and nuzzled her cheek with a small chirp-like sound. This caused Sonata to cheer up, and she giggled. "Aw, they're so friendly!" She said happily. Aria smiled. Then, the second went up to Aria. She looked at it, eyebrow raised.

"And what do you want?" She asked. The dolphin clicked at her. "Yeah, uh...I don't understand your little dolphin language..." She said slightly sarcastically.

"Oh, lighten up, Ari. They just wanna play." Sonata said. Aria rolled her eyes and looked at the dolphin in front of her. Suddenly, Aria thought she saw the animal's eyes flash with a sort of greenish light. She shook her head, and when she looked back at it, it's eyes were completely normal again. She sighed. _Great, now I'm seeing things..._ She looked back at the dolphin in front of her.

"Shoo." She said. Suddenly, the dolphin chirped at her, and it darted away. "Thank goodness." She muttered. Then, it came back. "What are you doing? Go away." She said. It chirped again before darting off in the same direction as before. "What is it doing?" she asked, looking at Sonata. She noticed Sonata's dolphin was doing the same thing.

"I don't know. I think...they want us to follow them." She said, then smiled. She looked at Aria excitedly. "Come on, Ari! It'll be fun!" Aria jerked her head back in an 'are you crazy?!' manner.

"What?! You're really willing to just follow a couple of random animals to Celestia knows where? What if it's, like, a trap or something?! Or somewhere dangerous?" Sonata laughed.

"You're way too paranoid, Aria. Just come on! Learn to have fun! It'll be an adventure!" She said, taking off after the dolphins without a second thought. Aria growled.

"I have a bad feeling about this..."

* * *

**Hmm...is Aria right to be paranoid, or should she listen to Sonata and loosen up a bit?**


	3. The Ship

**Well, this chapter came out a little crazier than originally intended...**

***shrugs* Oh, well. What're you gonna do? Anyways, enjoy!**

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Sonata swam with the dolphins to who-knows-where while Aria swam a bit slower, lingering behind. She eyed the sea creatures suspiciously. She didn't know what, but something was…off about them. For a couple of average dolphins, they certainly had a decent amount of magical energy emanating off of them. Perhaps it was just because they lived in Equestria. Magic was emanating off of practically _everything_. Aria sighed. Maybe she…_was _just being too paranoid…

With a slight flick of her tail, Aria caught up to Sonata and the dolphins. Seeing that the purple siren had finally decided to join them, Sonata smiled and swam next to her, gently rubbing her cheek against Aria's. The moody siren rolled her eyes before returning the gesture. Suddenly, the dolphins began clicking. The two sirens looked at them to see the animals watching them. Then, without warning, they dashed off in a certain direction, seemingly heading more downward, deeper into the water.

"C'mon, Ari!" Sonata said excitedly, dashing after the dolphins. Aria groaned and followed. As they went ever deeper, the ocean floor came into view. _Where are they taking us? _Aria wondered, getting annoyed. The water became darker, and her pupils dilated to help her see better. Suddenly, something large and dark came into view. Sonata gasped, and Aria squinted, trying to get a better look. As they neared it, she saw what looked like…a deck of sorts. She raised an eyebrow, now the slightest bit intrigued.

"Ooo…" Sonata said suddenly. "It's a boat…" Aria blinked, looking at the thing as they swam closer. Sure enough, it was a very large boat. A ship, in fact. About twelve times the size of a siren. The dolphins chirped happily as they dashed over to it, then went to a hole leading to the inside. Sonata giggled in excitement and went over to it as well. The two sea creatures went inside the darkness of the ship, and Sonata was about to follow. Before she could, Aria quickly came between her and the hole.

"What do you think you're doing?!" She scolded at the blue siren. Sonata looked at her, confused.

"What?" She asked innocently. Aria growled.

"We shouldn't go in there. We don't know if it's safe."

"But _they_ went in there!"

"Yeah, and they're just a couple of dumb dolphins. We're smarter. Aside from that, I don't really…trust them." She said. Sonata rolled her eyes.

"Aria, you have _got_ to stop worrying so much!" She said with a laugh, shrugging off everything the other siren had said. "I mean, what's the worst that could happen?" And before Aria could respond, Sonata pushed past her and dashed through the opening. The purple siren growled, infuriated.

"_Sonata_!" She screeched angrily. The blue siren, however, didn't come back. She huffed. "That stupid damn seahorse is going to get herself killed…" She growled before going in after her.

~o~

She swam around in the darkness, looking for the blue siren.

"Sonata?" She whispered in the otherwise quiet inside of the ship. "Where are you? Sonata?" Suddenly, something jumped in front of her, causing her to jump back in surprise. She growled when she saw that it was none other than Sonata, accompanied by one of the dolphins. She wondered where the other one was, but that was the least of her concerns at the moment. She snapped angrily at Sonata, who ducked away just in time to not be bitten.

"Aww, Aria…don't be like that…" She said sadly.

"Well, you shouldn't have come in here, you idiot! Are you some kind of stupid?!" She asked. Sonata's eyes widened, obviously hurt. But Aria didn't care. She was too mad to care.

"B-but…but…I just want to have some fun…" She muttered.

"Oh, yeah? Well, too bad! We're leaving now! We don't know how stable this thing is!" Aria growled. Sonata's face suddenly became serious, and she looked almost…angry.

"No." She said firmly. Aria glared at her.

"What?"

"I-I said…'no.' I wanna play. I want to explore." She pleaded. The purple siren huffed, trying to calm her anger. She decided it'd be better to try to reason with Sonata.

"Sonata, we don't know how old this ship is. It could collapse or something, and if we're caught in it, it could end disastrously." Sonata rolled her eyes.

"Aria, you say that about everything. I don't know about you, but I'm gonna explore with my new friends. You can go if you want. I don't care." And with that, Sonata began swimming to a different part of the ship. Aria blinked in surprise. What was wrong with Sonata? I mean, she was defiant sometimes, but not _this_ defiant! And not so harsh, either…

After Sonata had disappeared to another room of the ship, the dolphin was about to follow. But before it did, Aria thought she saw it…grin at her? Then, with a quick movement, it turned around and went the direction Sonata had gone. Aria growled.

"Ugh, who needs her?" She grumbled before beginning to head towards the hole that led to the outside of the ship. She didn't exactly remember where it was, so she started to swim around, looking around for the entrance. She swam from room to room, but everything remained unfamiliar. Aria growled. _There can't be much more to this ship… _She looked around. _Damn, it looked smaller from the outside…_ As she swam, she found herself in a lone room. Fortunately, there was a window. Well, if she couldn't find an entrance, she'd make one! She backed up a bit, then rammed headfirst into the window. This caused a few cracks. Then, she did it again. More cracks. A couple more times should do it. The reeled back once again, but before she went to ram into the window again, something appeared on the other side. She gasped. It was the other dolphin! But…it was different. This one was grinning for sure, exposing its small, razor teeth. It's eyes glowed a sickening green. Something about it intimidated the siren, causing an unintentional whimper to escape her throat. She backed further away from the window as the dolphin glared at her from the other side. That's when she remembered that the other one was with…

"Sonata!" Aria gasped, turning around to exit the room to go find the blue siren. But as she did, she found that the entrance to the room was now blocked off. "When did…" She glanced around the room worriedly, noticing that there were no other exits. The only possible exit was the window, but the dolphin was still out there, grinning creepily at her. Oftentimes, Aria was able to keep her cool in difficult situations, but she was absolutely freaking out at the moment. Not for herself, but because Sonata was alone with one of those _things_. Aria felt helpless knowing she couldn't do anything. She looked back at the window, and was surprised to find that the dolphin was no longer there. Finally! Aria was about to ram into the window, which she knew would cause it to break. But, suddenly, she noticed the room around her moving slightly. She raised an eyebrow in confusion, and looked around. The movement soon became slightly more violent, and it looked like it was in the middle of a light earthquake. Suddenly, a faint voice could be heard.

"Aria!" It sounded distant, but it was there.

"Sonata?" Aria muttered to herself. The room around her continued to quake, becoming ever more violent. This snapped her back to her current situation. Loud creaking suddenly filled the air, and Aria then knew what was happening. She gasped and panicked, and quickly swam to the window. But before she could make it, the roof caved in on her.

Sonata watched worriedly from the outside of the ship. The dolphins led her out. Their body language had told her that something bad was about to happen. She now treaded in the water between the two dolphins, waiting and hoping for Aria to come out.

"Aria!" She called again, but as she did, an entire half of the ship suddenly began collapsing, and it crumbled. That was the half of the ship that she and Aria had been in. "Aria!" Sonata cried out, dashing over to the part of the ship that was now in ruin. She looked around, not seeing the familiar shade of purple she was hoping for. She whimpered, nosing through the rubble of the rotted, iron ship. "Ari!" She called out again. Suddenly, she heard the sound of a weak siren call. Her ears perked, and her eyes grew wide as she swam over to where she heard it. She pushed and nosed through the rubble until she finally saw the purple color she knew so well. "Aria..." Sonata breathed in relief, lifting a heavy piece of iron off of her. Then, she gasped, now seeing Aria's condition. The purple siren's eyes were half open, and her breathing was coming out in rugged, raspy breaths. Then, Sonata's eyes trailed down to the large, sharp piece of metal sticking out of Aria's side...

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**...oh, no. O.O**


	4. Change of Plans

**Uh...umm...not really much to say other than I hope you enjoy this one!**

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"Aria!" Sonata screeched as she put her face close to the other siren's. She nudged Aria's muzzle with her own, prompting her to move. "Ari, s-say something!" She pleaded. The purple siren's gaze slowly shifted to look at Sonata. She attempted a smile to make the other siren not worry so much, but was unable to due to the increasing amount of pain she felt.

"S-sonata…" She said in a hushed voice. "I-it's…gonna be okay…" Sonata whimpered and looked to the sharp metal digging into Aria's side.

"N-no, it's not okay…" She muttered. "This is my fault. I should've listened to you!" Sonata blinked in surprise as the water around her began to have a foul smell and taste, and it had a tint of red in it. She looked over at the wound again, and gasped when she saw blood beginning to seep from it. She looked worriedly back to Aria. Maybe…she'd be able to carry her. She could carry her back to Adagio, and she could help her make Aria better…somehow. Sonata swam over to Aria's neck and put her mouth around it, not enough to hurt, but enough to have a firm grip on her. She swam upwards a bit, trying to lift her off the sandy ocean floor. She was able to lift her a couple inches, but the weight of the other siren was too much, and it dragged her down. Aria groaned in pain at the movement as the metal cut into her a bit more.

Sonata whimpered, releasing Aria, and lying her gently back onto the ground. As the purple siren lied there, unmoving, Sonata glanced over at the sharp metal. Maybe if she…removed it, it'd hurt less for Aria. She swam over to it and looked at it, watching the blood slowly seeping from the wound. With a sigh, she clenched her eyes shut and grabbed the metal in her teeth before quickly giving it a good yank. Aria let out a small, short screech of pain as the metal was removed from her side. Sonata flinched at the pained sound, spitting the metal slab out. Her eyes widened when she saw even more blood than before start coming from the wound.

"Uh-oh…" She whimpered. She then quickly went over to Aria's neck once again, wrapping her mouth around it. Now with a new burst of determination and adrenaline, she swam upwards, pulling Aria along with her. This time, she was able to move the siren, not letting Aria's whimpers of protest undermine her confidence. She swam as fast as she could while carrying the weight of another siren. Suddenly, Sonata's eyes widened as she felt something…very wrong. Her eyes darted nervously in every direction as her instincts told her to escape. _Escape from what? _She wondered nervously.

No sooner had she thought that did she see a dark shadow looming in the distance. She squinted through the dark, slightly bloody water. Then, the shadow started to move. And soon it was joined by another one, and another one. They moved in closer, and as they did, Sonata could see them clearer. Clear enough to see the cold, dark, beady eyes and rows of razor sharp teeth. _Sharks!_ She whimpered. Normally, a siren could have no problem taking on a shark. The bloodthirsty creatures were only about ¼ the size of a siren...depending on the shark. But when you have a whole group of them…let's just say that the siren is going to need some backup. Sonata tried her best to ignore the creatures slowly circling them from a distance. They came a little closer with each round, scanning their prey for weakness. _They must've been attracted by the blood… _Sonata thought as she tried to keep going. She was determined to get Aria to safety. Suddenly, more sharks came into view. Now, there were seven. The blue siren became increasingly nervous and worried, and she was almost too terrified to move. But the one thing that kept her going was a thought she kept repeating in her head. _Get Aria to safety. Get Aria to safety._

All of a sudden, Sonata felt something brush against her. She let out a surprised shriek, and she craned her neck slightly to see what it was. There was one of the sharks _right there_, swimming near her with a cold glare. She gulped as it suddenly darted off again. _Stay calm, Sonata. You have to. For _Aria_! _Sonata, with a new rush of determination, began swimming steadily forward, but that determination was soon crushed as one of the sharks suddenly began charging at her, mouth wide open. She wouldn't be able to swim out of the way fast enough while holding Aria, and fear gripped her, causing her to freeze. She stopped moving and squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the teeth to grab her. _At least…I tried… _Sonata thought. But when the attack never came, Sonata dared to open one of her eyes. Suddenly, both of her eyes snapped open wide when she saw that it was no longer there. The other sharks were still circling, but the one that had charged was nowhere to be seen. _What the…_

Sonata turned her head just in time to see another one attempting to charge at her. But just as it was about to reach her, something rammed right into it, causing it to swim away. Sonata blinked in surprise as she saw her savior: one of the dolphins. She smiled thankfully. Sonata had forgotten that one of the main enemies of sharks were dolphins. She then remembered her predicament, and gained a better grip on Aria before she started swimming again. As she did so, she saw the second dolphin on her other side, fending off the sharks that dared come close.

~o~

Sonata had been swimming for about fifteen minutes. The sharks had long ago left her alone, thanks to the two dolphins that now swam on either side of her. At last, she saw the rock that Adagio had been on. She swam to the surface, peeking her head out of the water. She saw Adagio lying on the rocks, asleep. Suddenly, both of the dolphins began clicking before quickly swimming out of sight, leaving Aria and Sonata alone. _Well, that was kind of rude. _Sonata thought. But she had bigger things to worry about. She looked at Aria worriedly, who'd passed out long ago due to either pain or blood loss. The blue siren wrapped her forelegs around Aria to secure her as she held onto her neck, then flew out of the water, gently resting Aria onto the rocks near Adagio. She then went over to her leader and nudged her head with her muzzle. The golden siren's eyes slowly fluttered open. She looked at Sonata sleepily.

"Yes, Sonata? What is it?" She muttered.

"A-aria's hurt. She's hurt real bad." Sonata said sadly. Adagio's eyes widened, and she lifted her head.

"Where is sh-" She began to say, but stopped when she turned her head and saw Aria lying motionless a couple feet away. Blood was flowing from her wound, covering the rocks. "Aria!" Adagio said worriedly as she shot up from her lying down position and went next to her. "Aria, can you hear me? Aria!" When the purple siren remained motionless, Adagio growled and turned to Sonata. "How. Did. This. _Happen_?!" Sonata lowered her ears and looked down.

"I-I was just playing...I-I'm sorry, Adagio…it was my fault…" Adagio sighed and turned back to Aria, looking at her wound. "Well, I'm no medic or anything, but I think I know someone who might be able to help her…if it isn't too late already…"

~o~O~o~

The dolphins swam at full speed back to their dwelling.

"Ugh, that was a stupid idea! Why did I listen to you, again?" One said to the other. The second dolphin rolled its eyes.

"Because you know I'm smarter." He said. The first one scoffed.

"Yeah, sure." She said sarcastically. "But don't blame _me_ if the queen yells at us!"

As the two swam, they came to a huge, rocky seaside cave. Suddenly, a swirl of green magic encased the two sea creatures, and in seconds, they were completely changed into their true forms, which looked like something along the lines of a dark, pony-insect hybrid. They flew up to the cave entrance, and landed inside. Almost immediately, they were met by their leader, who stood over them with an expectant look.

"Well?" She prompted. The male of the two proudly stepped forward.

"We were able to find them…well, two of them…and we even got one of them to trust us."

"Good. One is all we need at the moment. If one trusts us, then the other two soon will follow." The leader said with a grin. She then frowned slightly. "But you only said 'two of them.' Which one did you not encounter?"

"Uh…they're leader…" The male said, looking down.

"What?! The one that is most vital to our plan is the one you didn't see?" Both creatures hung their heads. Then, the female of the two stepped forward.

"A-and I'm sorry to upset you further, my queen, but…there've been some…complications…" The queen looked at her.

"Complications?" She asked with a growl.

"Indeed. The one known as Aria. She's been injured."

"Injured?! How?!" The female looked over to her male friend with an angry, blameful look before shifting her eyes to look back at the enraged dignitary.

"This idiot here wanted to have some fun instead of doing our job, ma'am. He said that we should have some 'fun' with them first, and to take them to the old, abandoned ship. We made half of the ship collapse, and she got injured. I told him it probably wasn't a good idea."

"Hey, now wait just a minute!" The male said. "You agreed with it!"

"Yeah, but only when you wouldn't stop begging me!"

"That's not tr-"

"_Enough_!" The roar of their leader's voice rang in their ears, causing them to stop bickering and look at her with feared expressions. "You _imbeciles_! And _you_!" She said, looking at the female.

"Y-yes, ma'am?"

"Did you, or did you not help in executing his idea of 'fun?'" She asked angrily. The female lowered her head.

"Well, you see...it's just..." She sighed. "Y-yes, ma'am..."

"Then it is just as much _your_ fault as it is _his_. And as for the plan, your goal was to gain the trust of the sirens and gain any information you could on them. Weaknesses! Strengths! _Anything_! Your job was simple, and yet, you manage to _injure _one of them instead! Do you not want our plan to succeed? Do you want to _starve_?!" The two subjects shook their heads slowly. "Then I suggest you get out there, and do your job _right_ this time!"

"Yes, Queen Chrysalis." The two changelings said in unison with a respectful dip of their heads. They turned back to the water, and with a flash of green, they were transformed into dolphins once again. She looked at them as they held their heads above the water.

"Don't disappoint me." She said in a slightly threatening voice. They clicked at her before diving back into the water. Chrysalis turned and stalked deeper into the cave. From all corners, her subjects watched her, knowing she wasn't in the best of moods at the moment. But they were surprised when a sly smirk appeared on her lips. She chuckled darkly a bit before speaking. "Those two will undoubtedly fail me again, but I have an idea if such a thing were to happen. I'll need another way to gain information on them." She grinned evilly. "Looks like it's time for a change of plans..."

* * *

**So, those of you who still hadn't figured out who the main antagonist of this story is yet, here you go! You now know!**


	5. Zecora

**Hey, sorry it took so long to update! I've been _unbelievably _busy, and I still kinda am, which is why this chapter is _so_ short. But here's some good news: I've started another series called Dazzling Short Stories, which is about the adventures of the sirens after this story, but don't worry, there are very few spoilers, if any. And so, without further ado, enjoy!**

* * *

Adagio waited outside of the large castle with Sonata. Aria lied on the ground a few feet away while Sonata pressed her side against Aria's wound, trying to slow the bleeding. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the castle's doors opened. Adagio lifted her head quickly as the one they'd been waiting for stepped out.

"Twilight, thank goodness." She said as the young alicorn rushed over.

"Adagio, I heard you had an urgent problem. What happened?" Adagio motion with her large snout over to the other two sirens. It didn't take Twilight long to see the blood. "Oh, my goodness!" She said, running over to the two. "What happened to her?!" Sonata, who'd been quietly weeping while trying to get Aria to wake up again, looked at Twilight.

"A sh-ship collapsed on h-her…and a p-piece got stuck in her s-side. I p-pulled it out, and she s-started bleeding even m-more. N-now, she won't even…w-wake up!" She said as she began to cry, nuzzling Aria's motionless head. Twilight flinched at the sight, and tried to think of something that might be able to help the injured siren. Then, an idea popped into her head.

"It's okay, Sonata. I think I might have an idea." The blue siren, whose face was now soaked with tears, looked back up.

"Y-you do?" She asked hopefully. Twilight nodded.

"You see, I have a friend named Zecora. She's a zebra who knows all about remedies and things like that. I'm sure she'd be able to help your friend."

"Sounds better than nothing." Adagio commented. Twilight nodded and looked worriedly at Aria.

"But we must hurry." She said.

~o~

"Oh, my goodness...what have we here? It looks like a very bad wound, I fear." The zebra said in worry. She'd been resting when she heard someone call her from outside, which surprised her. But she was even more surprised when she saw that her visitors were none other than the sirens themselves, along with Twilight. She slightly winced at the sight of the injured one.

"Um, would it be easier if she were a pony? 'Cause there might be a way we could get her to transform, even in her state." Adagio said. Zecora slowly shook her head, walking over to the wound to inspect it.

"That probably wouldn't be a good idea." Twilight interjected. "If you somehow could find a way to make her transform while she's passed out, it might still be risky."

"Why?" Sonata asked.

"Well, you see, it could make the wound worse. If she were to change forms, the tissue around that area would change around, probably tearing it more. That might injure that area beyond repair, or make it very hard to fix." Sonata slightly whimpered at hearing this. Adagio turned her attention back to the zebra, who was still examining Aria. "So, is she going to be alright?" She asked. Zecora looked up at her.

"Fortunately, there's something I can do, but I will need some help from you." She said, motioning for the sirens to follow her back into her home.

"I'll stay out here and look after Aria." Twilight said. With a nod, Adagio and Sonata changed into their pony forms, then followed the zebra inside.

"What do you need us to do? Help you make a potion or something?" Sonata asked curiously. Zecora appeared to be going about her home, seemingly looking for something.

"No, the brew is already done, but that part is only step one." Adagio raised an eyebrow in confusion, and also because she wondered why the weird striped pony thing was talking in rhymes, but she decided not to question it.

"So, what do _we_ do, then?" Sonata asked again. Zecora began shuffling through some colorful bottles.

"I am going to give you a brew, then look after Aria is all you will do." She then seemingly found what she'd been looking for, and smiled victoriously. She picked it up and walked over to the two sirens. "Make her drink this, and let her rest. Then, this potion will do it's best. But if she isn't taken care of soon, then I'm afraid there isn't much more I can do. But soon it might be far too late, so give this to your friend with haste." She said. Adagio nodded and took the bottle from her, still confused as to why she felt the need to rhyme with every sentence. It got kind of annoying.

"Thank you, Zecora!" Sonata said. The zebra nodded as the two dashed out of her home. She then turned around and looked down with a sigh.

"I wonder is...helping them is what I should've done? I sense something...off about that purple one..." She muttered to herself.

* * *

**Hmm...what did she mean by 'something off?'**

**Also, shoutout to all you Zecora fans! Brohoof! **/)


	6. The Dream

**Woo! Finally done! Knocked this out in a few hours! This chapter got kinda dark near the end, and wasn't really planned, but I think it came out rather well. So, hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Back at Twilight's castle, Sonata watched worriedly as Adagio tilted Aria's head up before slowly pouring the blue liquid down her throat. Sonata's eyes widened as she heard that typical small sound of discontent come from the purple siren, causing her to smile slightly. Adagio smiled softly down at Aria before speaking.

"Well, if she's well enough to complain even while unconscious, then I'm sure she'll be fine." She said with a slight chuckle, turning her smile to Sonata. The blue siren managed a full smile in return, but quickly went back to a frown as she looked at the wound, which was bandaged now, thanks to Twilight.

"Are you two going to be okay? You can stay here if you like while she's recovering." The young alicorn asked. Adagio turned to her, a small, reassuring smile on her large, golden muzzle.

"As much as an enticement it is to stay, princess, I feel it'd be better if we return to the sea. It'd probable make her more comfortable while she's healing, it being our home and all." She said. Twilight hesitated before nodding in understanding.

"Right. Well, I'm glad I could've been a help to your friend. I hope she gets better soon." She said. Adagio nodded.

"And we thank you greatly for your aid. Goodbye for now, princess." She said, taking her giant maw and carefully wrapping it around Aria's neck. With Sonata's help, they lifted the injured siren easily into the air. Twilight waved in farewell as she watched them begin to fly away.

~o~O~o~

A small, green and purple dragon was rifling through the books in the library in a rather hurried manner. He was shuffling through piles, checking shelves, and looking just about everywhere.

"No…no…no…" He muttered, going through each one. "Ugh, where is it?!" He growled angrily. Suddenly, he heard footsteps, and he froze. He looked around quickly before spotting a large bookcase not too far away. He dashed behind it, and right in time before the door to the library opened. In walked a…small, purple and green dragon. He was carrying a small stack of books and humming contently to himself. The dragon behind the bookcase gulped as the identical one went over to adjacent bookshelves, beginning to put books onto it. And just as he finished, a voice was heard from a distant room.

"Spike!" The voice suddenly yelled, causing him to jump slightly before scampering towards the door.

"Coming, Twilight!" He yelled, exiting the library and closing the door behind him. The dragon hiding behind the bookcase breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was too close…" He grumbled. "I hope my subjects are having better luck than I am…" He sighed, stepping out and resuming his search. He then looked back at the bookcase he'd previously been hiding behind, his temporary dragon eyes dilating. "Wait a second…" He muttered, walking over to it. He went on his tiptoes, cursing the dragon for his shortness, and grabbed a brown book off the shelf. He held it in his hands, and looked at the cover. "Hmm…Monsters, Creatures, and Conveyers of Dark Magic. This might be promising…" He said, flipping it open to the table of contents. "Let's see…where are the S's…?" He muttered, running his finger down the page. "Aha!" He said in triumph, turning to the page it said. When he got to the desired page, it showed a picture of three graceful-looking sea creatures. "Found it! This could prove useful…" He said with a grin. He looked up from the book, checking his surroundings before walking out of the library, book in hands. He evaded the eyes of anyone he came across, sneaking his way out of the castle. Once he was out, he went to the side of the building. A swirl of green magic encased him, and his body started to change shape. In seconds, she was in her true form. "Time to return to my beloved subjects." She said. With a grin, she picked the book up with the magic from her twisted horn, and began quickly flapping her wings, generating a bug-like, buzzing sound. She lifted herself into the air, taking the book, and began her flight back to her hovel.

~o~O~o~

"Is she better, yet?" Sonata asked for the fourth time in thirty minutes. Adagio rolled her eyes.

"Relax, Sonata. It'll probably take some time for a wound like that to heal, even with that potion…thing." Sonata made a slight whine-like sound as her ears went back sadly, and she rested her head on the rocks that the three of them were lying on.

"Well, can't we at least go in the water? It's _boring _up here." Adagio shook her head.

"No, the last thing she needs on that wound is dirty, salty ocean water. And it would also ruin the bandages that Twilight so kindly applied. If you're so bored and want time to pass, go to sleep or something." She said. Sonata huffed disappointedly and moved her head to look at Aria. Adagio sighed and put her head down. "In fact, _I_ just might do that." She said, her eyes fluttering shut. Sonata sighed as well.

"Guess I don't have much choice, now…" She muttered to herself. As she looked at Aria, a small smile crept onto her face. She moved forward a bit and rested her head next to the purple siren's. She nuzzled her cheek before lying her head down again. "Wake up soon, 'kay?" She whispered softly, a light purr escaping her throat. She then closed her eyes, and let sleep take over.

~o~O~o~

Aria opened her eyes. She gasped and looked around, only to realize that there was nothing to look _at_. "Where…_am_ I?" She asked. She was in a void, nothing but darkness surrounding her. She was in her siren form, floating in nothingness. She looked down at her side, and noticed that her wound was no longer there. "Weird…" She muttered. She looked up, and her head darted to look every which way in confusion.

"Adagio?" She called. "Sonata?"

"Hello, Aria." A sly-sounding voice said. Aria blinked in surprise, then in confusion as she saw no one. She looked to the side.

"Wh-who are you?" She asked into the void. She suddenly heard a dark chuckle in response…and it was coming from right behind her. She whipped around to face the source, only to jerk backwards in shock.

"You seem surprised!" The creature said, a sick, twisted grin spreading onto its face. Aria realized, in shock, that she was face to face with none other than…herself. The identical-looking siren's grin widened, noticing her realization. "What's the matter, Blaze? Shocked, are we?" She laughed. Aria, breathing heavily, backed up a bit.

"Wh-what…_are_ you…?" She muttered. The other siren's grin grew slightly smaller as she flew up, putting her face inches from Aria's.

"Why, don't you recognize me? I'm _you_, my dear." Now that the 'other Aria's' face was closer, she could see her in detail. To summarize, she looked exactly like Aria, only triple the psychotic. Her pupils were contracted, and she constantly held that nasty, evil-looking grin on her face, showing nearly all of her teeth.

"Why are y-you here? Why am _I_ here?" She asked, trembling slightly. She couldn't help but do so under the other siren's menacing, psychotic glare. Almost immediately, the 'other Aria' became serious.

"Aria, I brought you here. Not to harass, mind you, as fun as that would've been."

"Then _why_?" Aria pleaded. The other siren looked away.

"To _warn_ you." She said, looking back at her. Aria gulped.

"W-warn me about what?" She asked. The other siren moved, and began to slowly circle Aria.

"You're in danger, my dear. Terrible danger."

"What kind of danger?" She asked, confused.

"You're in danger of an unknown enemy. In danger of your own desperation. In danger of losing the one you love…forever." She then paused. "But most of all, you're in danger of yourself." Aria whimpered.

"H-how do you know all of this?" She asked. The other siren growled before coming face-to-face with Aria again.

"Did I not say that I was you?" She asked.

"Uh…yes. But…what does that have to do with anything?"

"Aria, I know these things because…I'm you from the future!" The other siren said, then suddenly broke out into a fit of hysterical giggles, the seriousness completely gone from her as she delved back into her psychotic look again.

"B-but…what do you mean? How could I possibly become…_that_?!" She asked, becoming hysterical. The other siren then broke into laughter.

"You're so screwed! Ahahaha!" 'Other Aria's' eyes constricted again, and she looked like more of a psycho before. "And if you think you can do something to stop it, you're-_ahahahaha!_-you're wrong!"

"Stop _what_?!" Aria demanded with a scared tone. The other siren didn't answer her. She just continued laughing psychotically, which unnerved Aria.

"Then, my dear, you-_haHAHAHA!_-you and I will become one in the same! You will become _me_! Ahahahaha!"

"No!" Aria shrieked, now angry. The other siren's laughter slowly became a continuous giggling. Then, suddenly, Aria noticed that her vision was slowly fading, and so was the other siren. "Hey, you need to give me answers! What's going to happen?!" The other siren smirked.

"Bye, Aria~" She said in a sing-songy voice. Then, an evil glare crossed her face. "I'm sure we'll be reunited again soon…" She said darkly. Aria growled.

"No! Please!" She screeched, but everything slowly disappeared from her sight, and her eyes closed against her will. When she opened her eyes again, she realized that she was no longer in the dark void, but was instead lying on some rocks surrounded by lapping waves.

* * *

**Well, then...that just happened.**


	7. Celebrate While You Can

**Finally got this one out! Also, if you're interested, I drew a picture of Aria's confrontation with 'other Aria' so that you'd know what it looked like. It's on my DeviantArt page. And in case you forgot, my username on DA is Datrandomcat (obviously). Enjoy! ^.^**

* * *

Aria woke up with a start, gasping. Her head darted in every direction before stopping and sighing with relief.

"Phew, it was just a dream…" She breathed.

"Aria, you're finally awake!" She heard a familiar voice say. She looked up and saw the golden siren hovering just above her.

"Adagio?" She muttered. Adagio flew down next to Aria and gave her a concerned smile.

"Hey, Ari. How're you feeling? You're quite lucky to be alive, you know." She said. Aria blinked and shook her head.

"Uh…I guess I'm okay…" She then gasped. "Wait, where's Sonata?!" Adagio chuckled lightly.

"Calm down, Aria. She should be back soon. She's getting some food for us. I stayed behind to look after you. She wanted to stay instead, but I'm a little out of practice. She'd have a much better chance of actually catching something than me." Aria nodded slowly in understanding.

"So…what happened while I was out? What did Sonata do?" She asked curiously. Adagio looked down and closed her eyes with a sigh.

"She…was _so _worried. So _scared_." She shook her head. "I've never seen her so upset. She cried and blamed herself, saying that it was her fault. As for what happened…we took you to Twilight, and she took us to a friendly zebra named Zecora. The zebra gave you a potion thing, and the wound healed quite quickly." Aria looked down, then looked at her side. She suddenly blinked in surprise. The wound was gone!

"How long was I out?" She asked. Adagio looked up.

"About three days."

"Three days?!" Aria asked incredulously. The golden siren nodded. "Well, that explains why I'm so hungry."

"Which is exactly why I sent Sonata out looking for food with the dolphins. I could tell you were gonna wake up sometime soon. You were moving for the first time since the incident." Aria nodded. Then, suddenly, all of the memories of what happened before she fell unconscious came rushing back to her. She gasped.

"Wait, Sonata's out there?!" She asked. Adagio looked slightly surprised at the sudden panicked outburst, but she nodded. "She's out there with those…those…_creatures_?!" She exclaimed. Adagio tilted her head.

"Creatures?" She asked. "They're dolphins, dear." Aria growled.

"No, they're monsters! They're the reason I almost died! They caused the ship to collapse on me!"

"Oh, hush now, Aria. They're just a couple of dolphins. I'm sure they couldn't do such a thing."

"You weren't there!"

"So? Look, I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding. You were scared, you thought you saw something, and you can't explain it, so you blame it on a couple of measly dolphins who couldn't hurt you even if they tried." Aria was at the brink with her temper, but she closed her eyes and sighed in an attempt to cool herself down. Then, with a growl, she turned away from her leader.

"Whatever, Adagio. Say what you want, but I'm going to go look for S-" Suddenly, Aria was splashed with water as something jumped from the waves. She growled and shook herself off like a dog as she felt something land on the rocks next to her. She looked over and saw none other than Sonata perched in front of Adagio and holding a bunch of fish in her jaws. She dropped them in front of her leader and grinned.

"I'm back, Dagi! And look at all the food I brought!" Adagio smiled.

"Good girl, Sonata." The blue siren giggled and touched her nose to Adagio's affectionately. The golden siren chuckled. "Oh, hey, guess what?"

"What?" Sonata asked with a curious tilt of her head. Adagio smiled a bit wider.

"Look behind you." She said. Sonata's head whipped around, and she gasped so loudly, it nearly hurt Aria's ears.

"_ARI_!" She screeched happily, literally throwing herself at Aria and landing on top of her, supporting herself with her two forelegs. As Aria lied on her back, she chuckled slightly as Sonata began showering her with affection. She nuzzled and licked Aria's face like a happy puppy. "Oh, I missed you so much, and I was so scared, and I thought you'd _never_ wake up! I'm so sorry I didn't listen to you! I love you so much! Please forgive me!" She said all in one breathe.

"Hey..." She said softly, nuzzling Sonata back. "…it's okay, Dusky. I forgive you. Sorry that I worried you so much…" Sonata let out a happy sigh as she pressed herself close to Aria, nuzzling under her chin.

"Aww, look at that…" Adagio said mockingly "How adorable." Aria hissed in response.

"Quiet, you old hag." She said with slight annoyance, but in a joking manner. Adagio rolled her eyes with a chuckle. Then, suddenly, Aria heard the sound of clicking, and she stiffened.

"Oh, they're finally back!" Sonata said, getting off of Aria so that she could get up. The purple siren slowly moved until she was upright, and looked at the water. There, both dolphins were, a couple of fish in each of their mouths. Aria felt burning fury inside of her as she looked at them. She scanned their eyes, looking for the green flash to indicate that she wasn't just crazy, but nothing was to be seen. They were just normal, black dolphin eyes. The purple siren narrowed her eyes, her cat-like pupils constricting. Adagio saw this and sighed, shaking her head slightly. Sonata went over to the water's edge and smiled at the two sea creatures, taking the food that they were offering. She put the freshly-killed fish in the pile over by Adagio. She then looked at Aria. "Hey, the dolphins were nice enough to help me hunt for you!" She said cheerfully. "You must be starving after not eating for so long! Here." She said, taking a few fish from the pile and plopping them in front of Aria. "Eat up!"

Aria eyed the food suspiciously, then glanced at the dolphins. She didn't trust anything they did, let alone hunt for her. What if these fish were poisoned? Those damn dolphins probably did _something _to them. But as Sonata nudged the fish towards her with her muzzle pleadingly, she couldn't help but concede. With a sigh, she smiled in thanks at Sonata before taking a bite out of one of the fish. Her taste buds immediately went into a frenzy, relishing at the taste of food. It had been three days, after all. They haven't touched food since. And, surprisingly, it didn't taste peculiar, strange, or suspicious. In fact, it tasted like one of the best fish she'd ever had! With a smile and a ravenous hunger taking over as she realized just how hungry she was, she began tearing into the fish. Sonata smiled gleefully, and Adagio chuckled.

"Guess someone was hungry." The golden siren laughed.

~o~O~o~

Chrysalis was resting in her seaside cave, flipping through the pages of the book. She smiled victoriously to herself, realizing that not only did this book contain information on the sirens, but it was also somewhat up-to-date, meaning that it also held _recent_ information on them. She read page after page, learning about their history and why they disappeared for so long. It also said that they had gems that channeled their singing and magic, and gave them the power to cast others under their hypnotic spell. But, after their last attempt, the gems were shattered. Chrysalis, now understanding this, pondered for a moment. _So, they're unable to sing. Makes sense, now. That may hinder my plans, but perhaps I can find another way to use them… _She thought. Suddenly, a wave of drowsiness came over the queen, and she let out an exhausted yawn.

"Well…" She muttered to herself. "…I guess I should get some rest. Then, tomorrow, I can find out how to make good use of my soon-to-be allies." She said. She went to close the book, but spotted something before she did, causing her to stop. "What's this?" She wondered to herself curiously, turning to a certain page. Her eyes widened when she landed on a page about…herself. _Well, now…that's interesting. But seeing as the book's title includes 'conveyers of dark magic,' I'm not surprised I'm in here, too._ She thought. She read down the page, curious to see what they had to say about her. As she read, she grinned to herself as it spoke of her misdeeds against Celestia and the citizens of Canterlot. She smiled proudly as it talked about all the damage she'd caused. Then, as she neared the end, it talked in great detail about her defeat, saying that it was 'easily done thanks to the power of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor's love.' This sickened Chrysalis to her core, and she snarled at the book. "Celebrate while you can, ponies. But know that I will return, and I will return with a vengeance…"

* * *

**Oh, noes...**


	8. Let Her Go

**Hey, not a very long chapter this time, but I had to get _something _out to you guys tonight, because I won't be able to post anything over the weekend. I'm gonna be really busy, sooo...yeah. But, despite its shortness, I hope you enjoy! This is where things get a little nuts!**

* * *

Though she was now content with a full stomach, Aria's mind was reeling. She sat alone on one side of the rocks while Adagio and Sonata were snoring away next to each other. She sighed and looked into the water, where she'd seen the two dolphins disappear into not long ago. She growled to herself. She knew she wasn't crazy! She couldn't be! She knew what she saw! She narrowed her eyes at the lapping waves, her cat-like pupils constricting.

"I know what I saw…" She grumbled before looking at her siren companions. "…even if the others don't believe me." Her anger quickly returned at this thought, and she let out a snarl as she slashed at the water's surface with her large tail, causing more noise than intended. She looked over to see that the other two weren't stirring. She let out a huff before returning her gaze to the water. After what seemed like an eternity of staring at nothing in general, she heard a light clicking sound to her right. She turned her head, and her glare darkened as she saw the owner of the clicks. One of the dolphins had its head sticking out of the water, and it was watching her. She growled. "You…" She said darkly. The dolphin led out a happy, whistle-like sound before swimming closer to the angry siren. She snarled. "Stay away from me!" But the dolphin came ever closer. But, before she could say anything, Aria heard an echoic voice in her head. The voice was familiar. _Too_ familiar. It was her own voice, only more psychotic-sounding.

"Soon, my dear…very soon…" It whispered. She shook her head violently, trying to rid her head of the voice, before shooting another glare at the dolphin. It was now only three feet away from her, and was no longer swimming towards her. It treaded water and stared at her. It looked at her innocently, to which she only responded with a sneer.

"Don't look at me like that, you wretched creature!" She yelled as quietly as possible, trying not to wake the others. "I know what you did! You can try and cover it up as much as you want, but I know that you were the one who made that ship collapse!" The dolphin just stared at her before clicking again. She narrowed her eyes. "And I know what you're trying to do, now." She growled. "You're trying to convince the other two that you're just a couple of harmless, innocent dolphins so that they'll think I'm lying or crazy! But I know what you did!" Aria's voice began to rise as she tensed up. "But I swear on my siren blood that if you so much as _touch_ Sonata or Adagio, I will kill you and the other one in the slowest and most painful way possible!" Aria's eyes began to water. "Because I know I'm not lying, and I know I'm not crazy!" She screeched.

"Aria, why are you yelling?" A tired voice came from behind her. Her eyes widened as she turned her head. She saw Sonata sitting right behind her, staring into the water where Aria had been looking.

"S-sonata?" She said, her voice immediately softening. The blue siren looked at Aria worriedly.

"Aria, are you okay? Why…why are your eyes watering? Why were you yelling?" She asked, her worry increasing tenfold. Aria growled.

"I was…yelling at the dolphin…" She muttered. Sonata looked at her in confusion.

"What dolphin?" She asked. Aria's head whipped back around to face the water, but she gasped when she saw that the creature was gone.

"What?! Where'd it go? Did it swim away?" She asked hurriedly. Sonata's expressing turned to one of slight disturbance.

"Aria…there was never anything there…" She explained softly. Aria snapped her head back around to look at Sonata.

"What? No! I was just yelling at it! And I-"

"Ari…I watched you as you yelled. You were yelling…at water. There wasn't anything there…" Aria's eyes widened in bewilderment and disbelief.

"No, that's…that's impossible! That can't be! It was right there!" Aria said, beginning to lose her cool. "I'm not lying! I'm not crazy! I'm not-" Suddenly, Aria was thrown down onto her back as Sonata pinned her down, looking at her worriedly.

"Aria…" She said sadly. Suddenly, tears began to slowly trickle from Aria's eyes as she stared wide-eyed up at Sonata.

"…I'm not crazy…" She whispered in a shaky voice. "…I'm not crazy…" Sonata's gaze softened as she looked down at Aria.

"I know, Ari." She muttered. "I know." Sonata thought this would ease the purple siren, but she was surprised when Aria's expression turned to anger.

"No! You don't believe me, just like that other sorry excuse for a siren! Just leave me alone!" She snapped, wriggling out from under Sonata before taking off into the air.

"Aria!" Sonata cried, about to take off after her. But, before she did, she felt powerful jaws grab her by the back of her neck, pulling her back. "No!" She yelled, fighting against the strength of the jaws. After a couple minutes, when she finally stopped struggling, the jaws released her. She looked in the direction Aria had flown with a whimper before looking at Adagio, with was watching her with worry. "Why'd you stop me?!" She yelled. Adagio kept a calm composure, despite Sonata yelling at her, and looked up at the sky where the purple siren had been.

"Let her go, Sonata…" Adagio muttered. "If she wants some time alone, just let her go…"

* * *

**Well, heheh...guess that just happened...**


	9. Fear and Doubts

**Yay! New chapter! This one actually has a bit of fluff in it (finally)!**

* * *

Aria lied on the shore, her head resting on the sand as she watched the lapping waves. It had been quiet since she'd left the other two at the rocks. She was surprised that Sonata hadn't come after her, but honestly, she was glad she didn't.

After being alone for the past twenty minutes, what had happened before came flooding back to her. She winced. She had yelled at Sonata. Again. And for no reason. She had only been trying to help. Aria closed her eyes and let out a short whimper/sigh. She didn't know what happened. It's like…she hadn't been herself at that moment. Like something else had become temporarily dominant within her. She huffed in disbelief, considering how far-fetched and crazy it sounded. She thought back to what had happened. She had seen the dolphin. She had _seen_ it. It was undeniable. Unquestionable! How could it have not been there?! She wouldn't yell at something that wasn't there! Maybe Sonata had made a mistake. Yeah, that _had _to be it! Aria was the most level-headed of the sirens. She'd be the _last_ one to start _seeing things_.

Suddenly, Aria shuddered. She didn't know why, but a chill ran up her spine. It was a similar feeling to how she felt when she'd come face-to-face with her other self. She winced at the remembrance of 'other Aria's' voice in her head earlier when she'd been yelling. Then, as if on cue, the echoic voice returned.

"Soon…very soon…" It whispered again, causing another chill to rack Aria's body. She snarled. It was the same words it had spoken before. _What does it want from me? Why can't it just leave me alone?! _She thought that her encounter in her dream with the ghastly figure would be the last she'd see or hear of it. _Why is it continuing to pester me?! It can't be real! It was just…a dream…right? How could I…possibly become _that_?! It can't be real!_ "Very soon, my dear…" Aria could no longer take the surprising amount of anger and confusion this whole situation was causing her, so she finally decided to question it.

"What do you want?" She growled. Laughter suddenly began echoing in her mind. Psychotic laughter. "Answer me, you wretched thing!" Aria snarled. The laughter died down after a bit, and the voice finally answered.

"What's wrong, Aria, dear?" It said mockingly. Aria narrowed her eyes.

"Why must you pester me so?!" She snarled. "Just go away and leave me alone!"

"But how can I leave you alone?" The voice echoed calmly. "I _am_ you…" Aria shook her head rapidly.

"No, I am _nothing _like you, and I never will be! Just go away!"

"Oh, but I can't do that. You see, this is just too fun…" It whispered. "And just wait to see what I have in store for you…" Aria growled.

"Shut up!"

"And don't forget about poor, poor Sonata…"

"I said _shut UP_!" She snarled.

"A-ari?"

"Go away!"

"B-but…" Aria blinked, coming out of her rage as she noticed that this voice sounded sweeter and brought a warm feeling to her chest. Her head whipped around, and she gasped when she saw Sonata sitting there a few feet away, looking hurt and scared. Aria's eyes widened, and she immediately dashed over to her, bring her into an embrace of sorts. Sonata blinked in surprise at this sudden advance, but then fell into it, smiling as Aria nuzzled her. She nuzzled her back with a sigh of relief. "Oh, Aria…" She breathed, the relief obvious in her tone. She heard Aria sniffle, so she pushed herself further against her comfortingly.

"I'm sorry, Sonata…" Aria muttered after a bit. Sonata pulled from the embrace to look her in the eyes. She saw tears in them.

"About what?" She asked softly. Aria looked away.

"I yelled at you…when all you were trying to do was help…" She muttered, a couple tears falling onto her cheeks. She then looked up, looking at Sonata with pleading eyes. "I called you and Adagio sorry excuses for sirens. I was so awful. Can you forgive me?" Sonata smiled sweetly and tenderly licked the tears from Aria's face.

"Who says I haven't already…?" She whispered, rubbing her cheek against Aria's. The purple siren smiled and nuzzled her back, a small purr rumbling in her chest. After a bit, Sonata's smile disappeared as she remembered the display she'd witness when she first arrived. Aria had been yelling at nothing. Again. She became worried, and a small, unintentional whimper escaped her throat. Aria heard this and pulled back, looking at Sonata's face.

"Sonata? What's wrong?" She asked. The blue siren looked down with a sigh.

"You were doing it again…" She muttered. Aria gave her a confused look.

"What?" Sonata looked up at her sadly.

"Aria, you were talking to nothing, again. I-I'm sorry to bring it up again, but it's just r-really scaring me. I'm worried about you, Aria. I don't think you're okay…" She said. Aria looked away. _She_ didn't even know what was going on, and it worried her, too. But she didn't want to lay her worries on Sonata. It wasn't her problem to deal with. She sighed.

"So, you _do _think I'm crazy, huh?" She asked, the slightest hint of playfulness in her tone. Sonata's eyes widened in both shock and worry.

"N-no! Not like that! I…I-I didn't mean…please don't fly away, again!" She stuttered, moving in closer to Aria. The purple siren gave Sonata a soft look before taking one of her forelegs and putting it around her neck, bring Sonata's head to rest on her chest. She rested her head on top of Sonata's with a sigh, smiling slightly.

"Don't worry, Dusky." She muttered. "I'm not going anywhere." Sonata buried her face into the crook of Aria's neck affectionately. "And don't worry about me. It's not your problem."

"But it's my job to worry about you, Ari. I love you." She said. "And I know you like doing things on your own, but you can also accept others' help, you know."

"I know, Sonata. But I'm serious. It's nothing you need to worry about. Really." Sonata sighed.

"Are you _sure_ there's nothing I can do?" She asked. Aria looked to the side, trying to hide her fear and doubts.

"Yes, I'm sure…" She whispered, nuzzling Sonata lovingly. Sonata sighed unsurely before cuddling closer to Aria.

"Okay, Ari…only if you're sure…" She muttered.

* * *

**Pig-headed Aria just can accept the fact that, sometimes, it's okay to accept other peoples' help.**


	10. The Younglings

**This one just features the changelings! ^.^**

* * *

Chrysalis sighed casually as she flipped the page of the book in front of her. There were bags under her eyes, as she hadn't been sleeping much. How could she rest when there was so much to do? So much to study? She looked tiredly at the other books strewn around her (ones that she'd stolen, of course), and let out a curt growl. She wasn't much for reading or studying, but she had to. She was working on something _big_ that would help further their plans, so she couldn't just stop or give up, though she greatly wanted to. She looked back to the book she was reading currently, which was one about spells and charms, and let out another sigh before continuing where she'd left off.

Not long after, she heard the sound of something softly approaching behind her. Her ears perked, and she turned her head slowly, her eyes tiredly landing on the owner of the sound. Or _owners_. Standing behind her were three young changelings, watching her with big, curious eyes. These were not average-sized changelings. These were the young. The 'babies,' if you will, of the brood. They trotted over to her, and she watched as one went up and nestled against one of her legs, one found a comfortable place resting against her chest, and one sat down in front of her book. The third one looked down at the book curiously, unable to read what was written. He looked up at Chrysalis.

"Broodmother, why do you look so sleepy?" He asked innocently. She managed a small, tired smile as she looked down at the curious, young changeling, her eyes softening.

"Because, child, I haven't gotten much sleep as of late." She said. The young one frowned sadly.

"But you _need_ sleep." He said worriedly. "Why can't you wait to work until you've rested?"

"Because I have to finish laying out my plan soon. If I don't…then it might not look so good for us." She said, her smile slightly diminishing. The young looked down at the book again.

"Well, maybe we can help you, Broodmother!" He said with enthusiasm. Chrysalis chuckled slightly.

"But you cannot read, child." She stated. The one resting against her leg moved.

"But we can learn." She said, nuzzling Chrysalis' shoulder.

"Yeah, we can learn! Then we can help!" The one lying against her chest said hopefully. The queen smiled warmly, leaning her head down and nuzzling the top of the young female's head with her muzzle.

"I'm sorry, young ones, but this is not something you should be involved in. This is 'big changeling' business. You're too young." She said softly, a slight hint of amusement in her voice.

"Awww…but I want to help, Broodmother…" The male said, now looking downtrodden. "You do so much for us and take care of all of us, so we wanna help!" Chrysalis put her head down and nuzzled his cheek.

"Aww, it's okay, child. I'll be fine. There's not much more to do, anyway." She lied. The male looked down sadly, his tiny ears drooping. The queen tilted her head slightly, a warm smile appearing on her face. Moving one of her forelegs, she reached out and pulled the little changeling close to her, along with his two siblings. "I truly appreciate your want to help me, but there are just some thing's you're still too young for."

"Well, then, I wanna be _bigger_. Like my mama and daddy!" He said. Chrysalis chuckled.

"Now, now…we don't want to grow up _too_ fast. Enjoy being young while you can." She said. One of the females then spoke up.

"But we aren't allowed to _do anything_! It's no fair!" She complained. The queen thought for a moment before speaking.

"Hmm. You know what? If I find something that I need help with, you three will be the first ones I'll go to." She said cheerfully, hoping to brighten their spirits. The male perked up.

"Really?!" He asked excitedly. Chrysalis nodded. "Yay! Thank you, Broodmother!" He snuggled against her chest happily.

"Anything for you little ones…" She said softly as she watched them cuddle close to her, closing their eyes. With a relaxed sigh, her gaze returned to the book she'd been reading before the interruption, and began reading again, a new burst of determination filling her as she was reminded exactly what she was doing this for:

Her brood.

Her changelings.

Her _family_.

* * *

**There's a soft side to every villain, and every villain has 'their side' of the story.**


	11. Almost There

**Sorry this took a while. School is _killing _me! But, it's here now, so I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Aria and Sonata had long ago curled up with each other on the sandy shore, and fell asleep. Aria didn't know how or why, but there was something about Sonata that calmed her. That eased her nerves. She was thankful for this, because if Sonata hadn't been there for her, she didn't know what would've become of her.

A chilly breeze suddenly came over them, causing Aria to wake with a shiver. Her eyes opened slowly, then snapped open wide as she saw her surroundings. Her head shot up as she saw that she was lying on sand instead of rocks, and that she was on a shore, and not surrounded by water. Her concern, however, dissipated when she then realized that her serpentine body was intertwined with another. She turned her head sharply and noticed Sonata, looking peaceful as ever, sleeping with her head resting on the soft sand. Then, that's when the memories of how she got to be where she currently was came flooding back to her.

Aria winced at the remembrance of Sonata's sad, fearful face as she looked at her. Sonata had actually been _afraid_ of her. Aria sighed before a small smile suddenly appeared on her muzzle. _But she still stayed. _The purple siren leaned her head down and nuzzled the top of the other siren's head, simultaneously taking in her welcoming scent. Her smile widened as she felt Sonata start to stir. She watched as the blue siren's eyes began opening, revealing tired, magenta irises. When she felt the presence of the other siren, Sonata's eyes opened further, and she lifted her head to look at Aria. A small smile etched onto her face.

"Morning, Ari…" She muttered tiredly. Aria looked at the setting sun with a smirk.

"Actually, I think it's quite the opposite." She said humorously. Sonata's eyes moved to look at the sky, and noticed its ever darkening shade.

"Oh, whoops." She giggled lightly. "I forgot that we came here around mid-day…" She then let out a yawn, exposing her sharp teeth in the back. Aria smiled and nuzzled Sonata's cheek affectionately.

"So, wanna head back?" She asked. Sonata gave her a look of concern.

"Are you okay with seeing Adagio right now? You're not gonna fight, are you?" Aria shook her head. Sonata then looked down. "Well, _I'm_ kinda worried about going back…" She muttered.

"What? Why?" Aria asked. Sonata sighed.

"Well, when you flew off, Adagio told me to stay, and let you be by yourself for a while. But I couldn't just let you be all alone, so I snuck away while she wasn't looking." She then looked up nervously. "I think that, if I go back and she sees me, I'll get in big trouble. I think she'll be really mad…" Aria smiled.

"Oh, she won't do anything to you." She reassured. Sonata tilted her head.

"How come?" She asked. Aria grinned.

"Because if she wants to do anything to you, then she'll have to deal with _me_ first." This caused Sonata to smile brightly.

"Really, Ari?" The purple siren nodded. Sonata giggled happily and nuzzled her. "Thank you…"

~o~O~o~

Chrysalis paced about in her cave, pondering. All this new information she'd gathered over the past few days had left her intrigued. And what's better, she learned that the purple one known as 'Aria' was much more susceptible than she previously predicted. It had only taken little effort for her to conjure the voice of the 'Other Aria' to echo in the siren's mind, and it had caused her to snap just like that. This was so easy! The other one, presumable Sonata, unfortunately had to intervene, but seeing how easily Aria could snap under the psychosis that Chrysalis had cast onto her, it made her feel more confident. She grinned. This may be easier than she thought. But this was not time for victorious celebration, yet. She was almost there, but for her plan to fully work, she'd need to do more research to help her finish in conjuring the stone…

~o~O~o~

Aria was about to take off from the sandy beach with Sonata when, suddenly, something dark caught her eye. She turned her head, and she blinked in surprise. There, standing quite a distance away, half hidden by large, jagged rocks jutting out of the ground, was a dark figure. It was rather short, and had a cloak over it, concealing any features it might posses. Though it didn't look very intimidating, Aria felt a chill go up her spine as she looked at it, and she shuddered. Something just…didn't feel _right _about its presence. The figure continued to stand, unmoving, and this just uneased her more. She felt a bump on her shoulder, and turned to see Sonata looking at her in concern.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked. Aria hesitated before speaking, giving Sonata a somewhat reassuring smile.

"Uh…yeah. I'm fine." She said, slowly lifting off the ground, followed by Sonata. Aria quickly glanced back at where she saw the mysterious hooded figure, only to find it now gone. She slightly growled to herself, rolling her eyes. "Probably just seeing things again…" She muttered angrily to herself.

* * *

**Oh, and one more thing (to anyone who actually reads this)! I've started drawing random scenes that I liked, one per chapter, and I've posted them on DeviantArt. But, to save you the trouble of going there and searching for them, I'll make a folder in my gallery just for scenes from the fanfic. So, just go to my gallery, and my folders will be on the left-hand side. It'll be obviously named "Fanfic Scenes." So, for anyone interested, there ya go.**


	12. A Coming Storm

**Hey, guys. I've been feeling a bit better lately, but things are still kinda crazy. But I was in the mood today, so I decided to do some writing. I hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

Aria and Sonata flew through the air. As natural as it was for sirens to swim, given their serpentine-like bodies and fins, Aria actually preferred flying. Don't get her wrong, she loved the ocean. But there was something about the wind in her face and the way her body moved effortlessly through the air that made her feel calm and happy. And, because of this, it helped her mind be relieved of some of the stress that had been placed on it recently.

Not much time passed before the familiar rocky formation came into view, along with a rather ticked-looking golden sea creature. As the two neared the rocks, Adagio spotted them, and they heard her let out a curt, angry snarl before suddenly shooting up from the rocks and into the air towards them. Aria and Sonata immediately stopped in the air as the golden siren met them halfway. She got in Sonata's face, her teeth bared.

"Sonata, what did I tell you?!" She snarled. "Why didn't you stay like you were told?!" Sonata let out a whimper, slightly shrinking away from the alpha siren. Aria's protective instincts kicked in, and she let out a snarl as she forcefully came between the two. She glared at Adagio.

"Hey, lay off, would you?" She snapped. Adagio's snarl grew smaller as she looked at Aria, but she still held her dominating glare.

"Aria, this is your own fault. If you hadn't dashed off in such a hurry without even the slightest of explanations, then she wouldn't have gone after you!" Adagio yelled. Aria growled.

"I was...going through something! You know, you don't have to be such a dictator about it!" She defended. Adagio just huffed in response. Sonata suddenly went in front of Aria, glaring at Adagio.

"Adagio, it was my fault! If I had never pressured her, then she never would've flown off!" Her voice then became softer. "I just...didn't want her to be alone. That's why I disobeyed you. I'm...sorry, Dagi..." Sonata sighed. "But I don't regret what I did..." Then, before Adagio could speak, Sonata quickly flew down to the rocks, landing on the far end of them before curling her tail around herself. Aria looked at Adagio before shaking her head, going down to join Sonata. Adagio just remained suspended in the air for a few moments before sighing, losing any animosity she'd had, and going down to the rocks as well, settling on the end opposite of the other two.

~o~

A while later, Adagio sighed and looked over at the other two. They were asleep. The golden siren looked down before going over to Aria. She watched her for a moment before leaning down and lightly nipping at her neck in an attempt to wake her up. The purple siren let out a low groan, shifting a little in her sleep. Adagio rolled her eyes and did it again, a bit harder this time. This caused Aria to suddenly jolt awake with a start, and she jerked away from Adagio.

"Hey, what was that for?!" Aria whispered-yelled, trying not to wake Sonata. Adagio motioned with her head to the other side of the rocky formation. Aria was about to refuse but, with a glare from Adagio, thought better of it. Hesitantly, she followed her leader to the secluded side, plopping down next to her with an angry huff. "Okay, now what do you want?" She asked in a harsh tone. Adagio growled and nipped Aria again, this time with the intent of pain. Aria recoiled. "Hey, why in the name of Celestia do you keep doing that?!"

"Don't talk to me like that. I did nothing to you." Adagio stated firmly. Aria rolled her eyes, shaking her head dismissively. "Aria, you should think before you judge." The purple siren looked at her leader.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not just some dictator. I'm not a ruthless leader. I'm not without mercy. I actually care about you two. I hope you know that."

"What? Are you kidding me?! I was hurting, Sonata came to comfort me, and then you yell at her?! Yes, you're _sooo_ caring." Aria spat. Adagio growled.

"That's not the case! I lost my temper, yes. But it was because I was _worried_. After what happened with you and your injury, I've been a nervous wreck! Now, whenever one of you goes out alone, I'm internally panicking, because I wonder if it'll be the last time I ever see you, because you two can't seem to do anything without getting into some kind of trouble!" Aria's eyes widened, her glare immediately softening.

"I...wha...Adagio, you..." Aria tried finding the right words, but she was nearly speechless. She didn't know Adagio felt so strongly about them. "Dagi, I...I didn't know..." Adagio looked away.

"You two mean the world to me. I guess I'm not good at showing it, though. And I try to hide my fear, my doubts...anything down-bringing." Aria tilted her head.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to appear weak. As your leader, I need to be strong for you guys. Or at least try. Would you follow someone who looked like an emotional wreck half the time?" Aria looked down and sighed.

"Fair point."

"And so I...I just..." Adagio seemed to have trouble speaking. Aria looked at her, and saw her eyes glistening with moisture.

"Adagio..." Aria began softly. "...it's okay. I understand. I'm sorry. I just...lost my temper, too. That seems to be happening a lot lately." Adagio nodded, still not looking at her companion.

"Indeed. Now, I mean no offense, but...I don't think you're well, Aria." Aria was about to snap at that comment, but then realized how true it was. She sighed.

"Yeah, me neither..." She said, shaking her head. "I...I really don't know what's happening, Dagi. I just...I want things to be normal again, and ever since that incident, my life's been quite the opposite. I don't know what to do, Adagio..." The alpha siren looked at Aria with pity, feeling sorry for her.

"I'm sorry your having such a hard time, Aria. If I could fix it, I would. But I don't even know what's wrong! You won't tell us!"

"Because _I _don't even know! I keep seeing and hearing things, I'm being haunted by a creepy version of myself, I keep losing my temper with everyone more easily than before, and...I always feel like I'm being watched..." Aria shivered before continuing, looking at Adagio. "If you can put a name on those symptoms, then it'd be a friggin' miracle!" Adagio was silent for a moment, thinking.

"Maybe it's a side effect of the potion that weird striped pony gave you. She _was_ pretty sketchy..."

"I doubt it. That was a while ago. I think any side effect it would've supposedly had on me would've happened and ended already." Adagio was about to respond when a crack was heard in the distance. The two sirens turned their heads, and looked out at the horizon. The sky was dark now, so they couldn't really see the clouds, but the feeling of the wind picking up told them enough, and another crack in the sky confirmed it. The two were silent for a bit until Adagio spoke up.

"Hmm...there's going to be a storm." She said monotonously, never taking her eyes off the horizon, as if looking at something only she could see. Aria did the same.

"Yeah. A bad one."

"Indeed." Adagio answered as the sky suddenly lit up brightly with electricity. The waves began to noticeably get more violent. "Wake Sonata up. Seeing how close and big it will be, the storm will be too much. We must retreat underwater." Aria nodded, leaving Adagio's side and moving across the rocks to where Sonata was still sleeping. She nudged Sonata's side, and the blue siren stirred a bit before lifting her head sleepily. She shivered as she felt the cool wind of the coming storm.

"Aria? What is it?" She asked tiredly. Aria motioned to the sky with her snout.

"A storm is coming. A big one. We have to go underwater where it'll be calm." Sonata looked up at the sky and, as if to confirm it, a few drops of rain landed on her muzzle.

"Oh, okay." Sonata yawned, getting up. Aria smiled as she slipped off the rocks, sliding effortlessly into the water. Sonata followed her soon after. And, when she was sure the other two were safe underwater, Adagio did as well.


	13. Hunger

**Hey, got a longer chapter out this time! Enjoy!**

* * *

Aria let herself mostly sink relaxingly to the ocean floor, allowing her body to go limp as she descended. She closed her eyes, enjoying the calm peacefulness of the slow-moving water. She was always appalled at how the waves could be thrashing about on the surface, but underneath, it was calm as always. Finally, after a bit, she felt herself hit the sandy floor, and she opened her eyes, moving her body to regain her steadiness and composure in the water. She looked and saw that Sonata was already there, lying next to her. And then she heard Adagio come up behind them.

"All good?" She asked. Aria and Sonata nodded. "Great. You two stay here. I'm going to go hunting. At a time like this, the storm will scare the prey and make them panic, making them easy targets. But I'll have to be quick about it, or else the storm will scare them all away before I have a chance to catch them." Adagio said, a bit of humor in her voice. Aria nodded.

"Ooo, ooo, can I come with you?!" Sonata asked enthusiastically. "I _love _to hunt!" Adagio cocked an eyebrow.

"I thought you were tired."

"Not anymore!"

"Hmm…I don't see a problem with that. What about you, Aria? How about all three of us go hunting together like old times?" Aria huffed. She really didn't feel like doing anything, but for old time's sake and Sonata's puppy dog eyes, she nodded in agreement.

"Ugh, okay, fine…" She said.

"Yay!" Sonata yelped happily.

~o~

The three large sea creatures swam slowly and quietly through the water, their eyes scanning their surroundings. The slight scent of fish drew them in the direction they were going, and it grew alarmingly strong quite fast. The tasty scent, at first, had led them hungrily towards it. But, as they drew nearer to the source, the scent had become…repugnant. It almost smelled like newly rotting flesh, and it sickened Adagio to her core.

She wondered if the other two had noticed. She almost wanted to turn around, but sirens were naturally curious, so she swam onward, determined to find what was giving off such a smell. No sooner had she thought that did she see a little fish hovering alone in the water. Strange that it wasn't with others. And strange that is was…so still. She moved towards it carefully, the other two in tow. But when it didn't suddenly dart away as she'd expected it to, she swam right up to it. Her eyes widened when she realized it was…already dead. The other two sirens noticed this, but thought nothing of it as they began fanning out, now knowing that they were in tasty fish territory. Adagio looked at it for a moment. Honestly, she didn't really think much of it until, suddenly, she heard Aria call out.

"Uh, guys…? You…uh…might wanna come see this…" She said, nervousness evident in her voice. Adagio cocked her eyebrow again before swimming over in Aria's direction. She swam to the edge of a reef that Aria was looking over the top of. When she got to it, she looked over it as well, and she gasped. She felt Sonata come up next to her.

"Oh my…holy sweet Celestia, what happened?!" The blue siren yelped. Before them lay a large expanse of continuous water. And, as far as the eye could see, there were dead fish crowding nearly everywhere. It was hard to see through the huge mass of limply floating bodies. Adagio's jaw hung slightly open as she tried to find something to say. Honestly, in all her many years of life, she'd never witnessed something like this. Lifeless fish by the thousands floating around in the water.

"What…what could've done this…?" Aria breathed. Finally, Adagio was able to find words, but they weren't of much use.

"I don't…I really don't know…"

"Could it have been the storm?" Sonata inquired. Adagio shook her head.

"No, sweetheart. The storm isn't even upon us, yet."

"A predator?" Aria asked. Again, Adagio shook her head gravely.

"There's no predator I know that kills in such masses without even puncturing them. There's no blood, see? They weren't attacked…"

"Then what the hell happened?!" Aria asked. Adagio began to get frustrated, not being able to pinpoint what exactly could've done this.

"I don't fucking know, Aria!" She yelled, losing her composure. She then let out a sigh, releasing her animosity. She looked forward and swam out a bit, looking closely at the bodies for any type of sign to tell her how they died. It couldn't have been poison in the water. If there was, it would've affected the three sirens. But there was nothing. Nothing! Adagio shook her head in disbelief as she swam between the bodies. None of their faces showed hints of fear before they died, confirming that they hadn't been attacked. It must have happened suddenly. Unexpectedly. She let out a sigh of defeat, returning to her fellow sirens.

"I just…I have no idea. I-" Adagio cut herself off when something else caught her senses. It wasn't a scent. It was more of…an impending sense of dread. Her pupils dilated, and she whipped her head around, trying to find out why. Then…that's when she saw it. A dark shadow in the distance that had an all-too-familiar shape. _Shark…_ Adagio thought. She looked around more, because they normally weren't alone. But she saw nothing. She looked back to the creature that was coming ever closer. "Sirens, we have company…" She muttered as the other two saw the danger. In all honesty, it was no _real _danger. It was only one shark against three sirens. But with what happened to Aria's fin a while back, they saw the extent of what a desperate shark could and would do. Aria growled, but Sonata whimpered. She was still shaken up about sharks when she'd nearly been killed by a group of them when she'd been trying to get Aria to safety a bit more than a week ago, give or take. "It's okay, Sonata. There are three of us, and one of them. It can't touch us." Adagio said reassuringly.

The creature swam ever closer, now close enough to see clearly and make out nearly every detail. Normally, a shark would hightail it out of there at the sight of three sirens, but this one kept coming closer, and it uneased Adagio. _What's wrong with this thing? Hmm…It might be able to sense Sonata's fear. That would give it some provocation. _She watched it warily as it indeed began to go around to the side Sonata was cowering at. _Perhaps it still won't have the nerve to attack. _Adagio hoped. But as it picked up speed once it had its sights set on Sonata, Adagio's protective, matriarchal-like instincts kicked in, and she quickly swam between the two in time before it could reach her. Adagio faced the shark, which had currently stopped its assault. She then bared her fangs, took a deep breath, and let out an ear-splitting shriek. The shark immediately recoiled, quickly turning and swimming away. Adagio watched it to make sure it went a good distance. When it was out of sight, she turned her attention back to Sonata.

"You okay?" She asked. Sonata nodded slowly. Adagio then turned her attention back to the direction the shark had swum off in. "Huh…that was almost too easy. I expected to put up some sort of fight…"

"Hey, be thankful it didn't." Aria said, motioning to her permanently scarred back fin. Adagio gave her an apologetic look. "Though…" Aria continued. "…I do wonder why it was even attempting to have a go at us. It should've known it didn't stand a chance." Adagio shrugged.

"It must've been _really _desperate. It was probably looking for food like us, but it couldn't because all the food in this area appears to be dead…" She said solemnly. Adagio took one last look at the mass fish grave. With a sigh, she turned back to the other two. "And I'm sorry, girls, but it looks like we won't be able to eat tonight either…" Sonata pouted, and Aria sighed. They were all hungry, but what can one do? They couldn't breach the surface to turn into ponies and go into town to get some food. Not in this storm that would surely be upon them in no time. So, they had no choice but to return to their makeshift resting spot until the storm passed.


	14. Acts of Love

**Things have been a little serious and such, so I added a bit of humor at the end, there. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Chrysalis stood tall atop the cave as she watched the dark clouds rolling in. The wind was starting to become violent, and it whipped her mane around behind her. The water was beginning to thrash about, and she felt a small twinge of worry rise up in her. But, just as suddenly as this happened, she saw two dolphins poke out of the slightly thrashing waves. She let out a nearly inaudible sigh of relief before flying down to the entrance of the cave. With a flash of green magic, the two sea creatures turned back to their original forms, and stood before their leader. With a nod, she walked into the cave, and the two followed her.

"How go your findings?" She asked as she reached her destination in the back of the cave and delicately lied her body down. "Did the spell work?" The male stepped forward.

"Yes, Queen. All of the fish in the surrounding area have died like you wanted. The sirens are hungry." A grin spread onto Chrysalis' face.

"Hmm, seems I'm getting better at these spells…" She said, bringing a brown book over with her magic. She flipped through the pages until she landed on a page with a strange-looking stone on it. "And now that this is almost complete, our plan can _finally_ put into motion. This is only the first stage. After the storm is over, the sirens will have no choice but to go into town in search of food. But most of the ponies still haven't forgiven them. They won't be likely to help them. Then, they'll have no one to turn to. Well…no one except me." She said, a dark chuckle escaping her throat as she said the last part. "That's when we'll come in, and that Aria one will be out host. This will just be so easy!" As Chrysalis said this, she began laughing evilly, and a symphony of thousands of changelings joined in, creating a cacophony of dark laughter.

~o~O~o~

Sonata lied there, trying to get to sleep, but her growling stomach kept her awake. She looked up and saw the water's surface thrashing wildly above her. She let out a sigh, wishing she could leave the water. Not only was she hungry, but she was also bored. She looked at Aria, but the purple siren had a troubled look on her face, and it seemed as if she were deep in thought, and it was never wise to bother her when she was like this. She then looked at Adagio, but the golden siren was asleep. With a sigh, she lied her head down and stared at nothing.

A bit of time passed, and Sonata had gone off into her own little world. She was snapped back to reality, however, when she felt something nudge her shoulder hard.

"Hey, stop that!" She heard an urgent voice say. With a blink, she turned her head and looked to the side, seeing Aria looking at her pleadingly.

"H-huh?" She asked.

"Stop doing that!" She urged again. Sonata was confused.

"Stop doing what?" She asked. Aria seemed dumbfounded that she didn't know what she was talking about, but she answered anyway.

"Sonata, look at your leg!" When Aria said this, something sparked in Sonata's brain. The water…it smelled like blood. She whipped her head around and looked at her leg, and gasped when she saw countless bite marks in it, and several of them were bleeding slightly.

"Aah! What happened?!" She yelped.

"What do you mean 'what happened?' You were chewing on your damn leg! Now please stop it!" Sonata blinked in surprise.

"I…I was…?" She asked, looking at the deep punctures. How did she not notice something like that?

"_Damn_, Sonata…you must've been so hungry that you were subconsciously chewing your leg or something…" She muttered before leaning over and rubbing her head sensually against Sonata's. "You were seriously worrying me…"

"Mmm…" Sonata moaned slightly at the soft, loving touches Aria was giving her. She nuzzled back. "…sorry." She said before letting out a soft giggle. She wondered why Aria was being so loving at the moment. I mean, it wasn't uncommon for the two to typically involve themselves in romantic, sensual moments, but this one was out of nowhere, and there was nothing that could've triggered it. Not only that, but Aria was the one who was instigating it. Now _that _was uncommon. _Well, I__ should enjoy it while it lasts. _Sonata thought happily. It was certainly taking her mind off the hunger that clawed at her insides. Maybe that's what Aria was doing. Trying to take her mind off of it. She smiled at the thought. Aria then moved her head down, and began lightly nipping at Sonata's neck, giving her soft love bites. "Mmm…I love you, Aria…" Sonata whispered lovingly as her eyes fluttered shut. The purple siren just smiled and continued.

Adagio's eyes opened slightly. Her instincts were telling her something, but she wasn't sure what. In wasn't of danger. It was more like…they were telling her to move somewhere else for some reason. She looked at Aria and Sonata to ask if they felt it too, but her eyes widened when she saw what was happening. Her cheeks lit up in embarrassment as she looked away, knowing what was to follow.

"Yeah, okay…" She muttered in an answer to her instincts before lifting off the ocean floor, quickly swimming out of sight…and earshot.

* * *

**As you remember (or maybe you don't) ****from**** Dazzling Short Stories****, Aria is kinda uncomfortable with saying lovey things like "I love you" and cute stuff like that, so that's why she didn't say anything back.**


	15. To Ponyville

**Woo! Finally a long chapter! Things get kinda intense here o.o**

* * *

The next morning, Sonata woke up with a lethargic yawn. She shook her head, trying to rid the sleepiness. Coming back to her senses, she realized that her body was intertwined with another. She then remembered the events of the night before, and she blushed. With a blink, she turned her head and looked at the sleeping siren next to her. Sonata's heart nearly melted at the sight of a small smile plastered on Aria's peaceful-looking face. She looked genuinely happy, which was rare to see on Aria nowadays what with her little psychotic meltdowns that Sonata still couldn't understand. Sonata let out a small, rumbling purr as she leaned her head down and lovingly nuzzled her cheek, sighing in contentment. Aria then started to move, and Sonata smiled when the purple siren's eyes opened ever so slightly. When she saw Sonata, her eyes opened a bit more, and her smile grew.

"Mmm…hello, Love…" Aria said sleepily, bringing her head against Sonata. The blue siren sighed.

"Morning, Ari…" She whispered, nuzzling Aria again. Then, suddenly, Sonata felt a twisting pain in her gut, and she clenched her teeth. She then remembered just how hungry she was. A small whimper escaped her throat, which caused Aria to look at her.

"Hey, Sonata, you okay?" She asked worriedly. Sonata sighed, her ears drooping.

"Sorry, I'm just…_really _hungry…" She whimpered. Aria gave her a pitiful look.

"I know, sweetheart. We all are." Aria then looked up. The waves above seemed to have died down quite a bit. They were still thrashing bit, but not much. "Hey, I think the storm has cleared up enough for us to go out."

"Really?!" Sonata asked, looking up.

"Yeah, w-" She then paused, looking around. "Wait…where's Adagio?"

"Right here…" A voice suddenly said, causing the two to turn their heads in the direction of the source. They saw the golden siren, who'd recently arrived, resting in the sand, giving the two a knowing and slightly disturbed look. "So…have fun last night…?" She teased. Aria and Sonata both blushed.

"Shit, I…uh…I…" Aria stuttered.

"Forgot I was here?" Adagio finished, a smirk appearing on her lips. Aria just looked at her sheepishly. "Don't worry, guys, I didn't stay around…" Adagio said with a slight shiver. "Anyways, you say the storm has cleared, Aria?" She asked, looking up.

"S-seems so." Aria answered, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Well then…maybe we should head into town. Get some food. I don't know about you, but I could eat a whale."

"Yes, that's very ladylike, Dagi. Very _dazzling_." Aria said with an unamused look. Sonata giggled.

"Yes, yes, very funny, Aria. So, are you coming or not?"

"Actually…I don't know if I _wanna _go into town…I mean, whenever we fly over it, people give us looks. We've never actually been _in _the town. What if something happens?" Sonata asked, a hint of fear in her voice. Even Aria looked uneasy.

"Oh, come now, Sonata. Nothing bad will happen. Ponies are reasonable creatures, I'm sure. They can't hold a grudge for something that happened so long ago. Heck, these ponies probably weren't even alive then! I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Hmm…yeah. O-okay." Sonata agreed.

"Righty, then. Come on." Adagio said, beginning to swim to the surface, the other two following close behind.

~o~

The rain was still coming down slightly heavily, but it wasn't terrible. As the three ponies walked into town, it was quiet. Most likely because no one was out in weather like this. But the three ponies were starving. The leader walked warily in front of the other two, looking back and forth at all the food shops. She suddenly didn't really have the courage to be here. And the rain didn't really help the effect. Then, suddenly, she heard the sound of hoofsteps and the splashing of puddles. Adagio whirled around, along with Aria and Sonata, and saw a young mare staring at them and shaking. She had a deep orange mane and a much lighter orange coat, and her flank bore an image of three carrots.

"Y-y-you g-get out of here!" She suddenly said, trying to sound either brave or menacing. But the effect was ruined by the stuttering of her voice. Sonata blinked at the stranger pony. She then noticed that, in the windows of many of the buildings, ponies of various ages were staring out wide-eyed at them. Some looked angry, probably because the sirens were there, but some looked fearful and shocked, like they couldn't believe somepony had actually had the guts to face them. "G-get out!" The orange pony said again, this time a bit more forceful. Adagio let out a huff and stormed right up to the poor mare, who looked like she was on the brink of fainting right then and there. Stopping a few feet away, Adagio scowled.

"And why should we?" She asked firmly. It took a few moments before the pony was able to speak again, as if afraid Adagio would kill her without hesitation if she were to do so. But speak she did.

"B-because you're e-evil!" A small whimper was heard from Sonata. She had become rather sensitive to being called such things.

"Oh, yes?" Adagio asked. "And how do you know? You've certainly never met us before." The mare then was able to gain a look of disgust and indignation.

"B-because there are stories! Stories of what you'd done! No good can come from you! Now get out of our town!" She yelled. Then, suddenly, a door to one of the buildings opened, and about four more ponies piled out. They went up and stood their ground on either side of the orange mare, all looked at the sirens with contempt. Adagio was still unfazed, and would nearly stop at nothing to defend herself and her fellow sirens.

"And this is all you have to go off of? Stories?! Stories are for children! This is the _real _us. Yes, we have done some terrible things in the past, but that is no reason for you to judge us! You weren't even alive when we were our old selves! You cannot say anything! We've changed for the better, now! Even Sunset agrees!"

"Ha!" A stallion exclaimed, glaring at Adagio. "She's in league with the traitor! This just proves that they're still evil!" Sonata lowered herself a bit, trying to hide behind Aria. But this proved useless as more ponies joined in. Soon, they had Aria and Sonata surrounded, leaving Adagio alone to deal with the smaller group of ponies. Adagio growled.

"How _dare_ you?!" She screeched, trying to hold back from going into her siren form and showing them the true wrath she was capable of. "Princess Celestia had agreed _herself _that we sirens and Sunset Shimmer have been reformed and forgiven! Why can't you process that through your thick skulls and do the same?!" Adagio suddenly heard a shriek, and her ears perked as she whipped her head around. She then saw the group of ponies surrounding her companions, and some were threatening to impale them with their horns, a couple were jabbing pitchforks at them, and others were stomping warningly in an attempt to scare them out.

"Why can't you leave us alone?!" She heard Sonata shriek in pure fear. Adagio's ears went against her head.

"H-hey! S-stop that!" She yelled at the large group of ponies. They just ignored her. "Stop that now!" She yelled again, running up to the group. They parted to let her through to her companions. Adagio gasped. Sonata was huddled on the ground, terrified of the other ponies. But, standing over her protectively was Aria, who wouldn't budge, no matter how many threats or sharp objects were pointed her way. The sirens could easily go into their true forms and teach the ponies a lesson, but they all knew that, if they did so, they'd just be proving the ponies' point. Suddenly, a young stallion ran forward, head down with horn pointed towards the two. Aria let out the best snarl a pony was capable of making as she faced the attack, kicking outwards at him. While she was distracted, another tried to have a go at the cowering Sonata, but Aria immediately turned and defended her.

"You stay the hell away from her!" Aria yelled, bucking the attacker square in the chest. Adagio ran forward to the one who'd been having a go at Aria, and stood defensively between him and his target. The stallion snorted, backing away a bit. Then, suddenly, all was quiet. All was still. It was as if time itself had stopped. The three sirens just stood there, all in defensive positions, as the group of ponies surrounding them just stared with mixed expressions. This silence, except for the occasional snort or paw at the ground, lasted for nearly a minute before some of the ponies began parting on one side. The sirens looked, and saw a rather elderly-looking mare walking through before stopping a good six feet from the sirens. She looked at them disapprovingly.

"You three have a lot of nerve coming here..." She did in a monarchial voice. Adagio just glared at her. "You have no business here. Now get out of my town." Adagio sighed, realizing dirty looks weren't very likely to get her out of this.

"Look...miss...the three of us are starving. We haven't eaten in days, and all of the fish in the surrounding area have died."

"Okay..." The mayor prompted.

"We need food."

"Not my problem. I might've been more merciful if you hadn't done those past deeds, plagued Equestria, and wrought disharmony wherever you went in order to feed yourselves. My great grandfather might've lived longer if it weren't for you three."

"Look, ma'am, we're sorry for what we've done, but we're desperate. _Please."_

"Equestria was once desperate too thanks to you three. I think you deserve to know what it feels like. So now, I'll say it again. Get. Out. Of. My. Town." Suddenly, a chorus of angry insults and threats were heard from the surrounding crowd. Having exhausted her patience and options, Adagio let out an angered yell as she ran forward, pushing through the crowd and freeing herself from the chaos. She looked back to make sure the other two were following. When they finally pushed from the angry crowd as well, she turned and just ran. She didn't know in what direction she was running, but she just wanted to get way away as quickly as possible. So, farther from Ponyville she ran, the other two following close behind.


	16. The Foals

**Well...things get a bit crazy here...**

**Just an FYI...**

* * *

"Hey, Adagio, wait up!" She heard Aria yell from behind her, anger evident in her voice. But Adagio didn't stop or slow down. She ran as fast as she could, Aria and Sonata trying to keep up. She wasn't looking where she was going, as her head was down and her eyes were shut, the rain pelting against her. She was filled with many emotions; more than she was used to. One of the more prominent ones was rage. What right did they have to treat them like this?! What had they ever done to them?! Any evil deed they'd done was well in the past. All these ponies had were _stories_. Some fucking excuse. But, aside from that, she was sad, scared, and humiliated, among other things. She'd had to relent to ponies. _Ponies_! Quite the lesser race compared to sirens, and they'd been bested by them. It was a damper on the other two, but it _scarred_ Adagio's ego. How humiliating. If the sirens hadn't been trying to prove their reformation, then there probably would've been one less town on the map.

Finally, after a good bit, Adagio ran out of breath and came to a gradual halt. She hunched over, panting and grumbling angrily to herself between gasps. Now, Adagio was normally one to keep her head in situations like this. It was Aria that you had to worry about. Whenever there was a stressful situation that was caused by someone else, she tended to blow a fuse, and the result could be quite explosive. This situation was no exception.

"Oh, this is just perfect! Perfect! Well done, Adagio! They sure do _love_ us!" Aria yelled as she stormed over to Adagio, her tone practically dripping with sarcasm. The leader turned to her, her expression twisted in anger and fear.

"Shut up, Aria! This wasn't my fault!"

"Oh, really?!" Aria then began laughing hysterically. "Sweet Celestia, you have _got _to be _kidding _me! In what way is this _not _your fault?! _You're_ the one who told us we should go into town! _You're_ the one who said they wouldn't be angry! _You're _the reason they _hate us_!" She screeched. Adagio had visibly shrunk back a bit. The way that Aria was acting...it was terrifying. When Adagio didn't say anything, Aria continued. "Back then, you made us do terrible things! Yes, some were enjoyable, and I'll admit that I was happy to go along with some things, but you never stopped! You just kept making things worse! You and your damn lust for power! You could never get enough, could you?! _That's _why Star Swirl banished us! _That's _why everyone hates us! _That's _why we're in this _fucking _situation!" At that point, that's when Adagio decided to snap back.

"Aria, how _dare _you put all of this on _me_?! If I'm not mistaken, _you_ were the ones who _decided_ to follow me! You could have rejected my offer, but you didn't! You know why? Because when I found your sorry, sniveling selves all alone with nothing to your names, no one to call 'partner,' 'companion,' or even 'friend,' _I _was there to pick up the pieces! _I_ was there when you needed someone most! _I_ was there when you needed guidance; someone to look up to! _You_ accepted _my_ leadership! You could've walked away at any time! You and Sonata both! But you never did, because you knew that you're _nothing_ without me! You didn't _have_ to follow me, but you did, therefore you are just as guilty as me, you useless piece of garbage!" As soon as Adagio finished, she huffed angrily. And as the leader's words sunk in, Aria finally lost it.

"Shut the hell up, you fucking filthy wench!" Aria screeched as she suddenly rushed forward and rammed into Adagio, who flew a few feet before landing in the mud, sliding a bit. The wind was knocked out of her, but she attempted to stand anyway. She stumbled to all four legs. Mud completely covered her body all the way up to her chest, and it also covered most of her face, ruining her beautiful fur. She growled ferociously as she glared at Aria with such a level of hatred that even the other two had never seen before. But, intimidated as she was, Aria stood her ground and glared back. Sonata just stood a few feet back, more terrified than she'd ever been. These two had never reach such a point of resentment towards each other, so Sonata didn't know what to do. They looked to the point where they might actually be driven to kill each other from the looks on their faces, and the stances they held.

Aria created a small divet in the mud as she scraped her hoof against the ground, kind of like a bull would, ready to charge. The two just stared at each other for a few more seconds before they suddenly heard the sound of small hoofsteps. Eyebrows cocked, they paused for a moment before turning their heads. Their eyes widened as they saw what was approaching. It was three little foals, most likely from the village they'd just been in. There were two colts and a little filly. They just stared wondrously at the three siren-ponies. Then, one of the colts gained enough courage and went up to the closest one, who just so happened to be Aria. She huffed angrily as he approached her, glaring down at him. Sonata and Adagio tensed, wondering what Aria would do. The little colt walked precariously up to her before sitting down just a couple feet away, a big smile on his face.

"Hi!" He said cheerfully. Aria kept silent as she just stared at him, but her expression visibly softened. The colt seemed to deflate slightly when he wasn't greeted in return, but he was persistent. "Uh...hi? My name is Maple Leaf! What's yours?" Aria then growled a bit.

"None of your business, kid. Now _scram_." She said in a harsh tone. The colt looked slightly hurt, but he had a determined look in his eyes.

"B-but...you guys were so sad, and we thought you could use some cheering up...After the way they treated you, we thought you might need somepony to make you feel better." He said as the other two walked up next to him. The little filly hid behind the first colt. Aria scoffed.

"Kid, do you have any idea what I am? What I'm capable of?" The colt hesitated before nodding.

"You're the sirens. Momma told us about who you are and what you did, but she also told us that Princess Twilight said you were reformed. And whenever you fly over our town, you never attack us or do anything bad. So, I think it's true." The other two nodded in agreement. Then, suddenly, Sonata came over cautiously and smiled at the foals, lying down in front of them.

"It is." Sonata said in a soothing voice. "And we're trying hard to make up for our past." The colt then turned to the other one.

"Ha! Told ya." He bragged, elbowing his friend. The other colt just rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, I forgot to introduce us! Like I said, my name is Maple Leaf, and this is my little sister, Holly Leaf!" He said, motioning to the little filly tucked behind him. He then looked at the other colt. "And this is Juniper, my best friend!" Sonata smiled warmly and dipped her head slightly in acknowledgement. Adagio then came over and joined in the little circle, sitting down next to Sonata, trying to keep her distance from Aria for the moment.

"It's nice to meet you three. My name is Sonata Dusk." She then motioned to Aria. "And I'm sorry about this one's attitude. She can be a real stick-in-the-mud sometimes." This was responded to with a swipe from Aria's hoof to the back of Sonata's head. "Ow, hey!" The three foals giggled a bit, and the little filly's eyes widened.

"Are you sisters?" She suddenly asked in a small, curious voice.

"Oh, uh...no." Sonata said a bit awkwardly. The filly tilted her head.

"Then what are you?"

"Weeeell...Adagio, here, is our leader and self-acclaimed mother figure, and Aria is my mate or girlfriend or whatever it's called..." The three gasped.

"Wait...she's your _girlfriend_? You two..._like _each other?!" The second colt, known as Juniper, asked. Sonata nodded, eyebrow raised.

"But...but...you're both _girls_..." Maple said. "Doesn't that seem a little weird to you?" Sonata giggled.

"At first, it did. But..." Sonata looked down a bit, her cheeks turning light pink. "...when I realized how much I loved her, I realized that gender doesn't matter..." She said, glancing up at Aria. "Love is love." The purple pony was trying to hold a dominating, tough appearance, but her eyes showed that Sonata's words had somewhat touched her. Satisfied, Sonata looked at the foals again. The little filly smiled.

"Aww, that's so cute!" She squealed. Sonata giggled, and even Adagio cracked a smile. Aria still kept trying to appear angry. The two colts looked confused still, but they nodded in acceptance.

"Well, it's still a little weird, but...I guess I understand." Maple said. Juniper then rolled his eyes and stood up, looking at Adagio.

"Okay..." He began. "...we got _way_ off topic. Look, the real reason we came here was to tell you something." Adagio's eyes widened a bit as she looked at the colt.

"Okay, what is it?"

"Well, you see, we felt really bad about how our town acted, and so we wanted to ask if you might want us to tell Princess Twilight about what happened. Maybe she'll do something about it. Would that be alright?" He asked, tilting his head. Sonata's eyes brightened.

"Oh, that would be lovely! I'd love to be able to go into that town without having to wonder if I'll get a pitchfork shoved in my face..." She muttered. The foals lit up.

"Yay!" Maple said, jumping happily. "I bet Twilight can convince them. I mean, if she can convince Princess Celestia, then I bet she can convince the town, too! Let's go, guys!" He said, running off. Holly followed him, but Juniper stayed behind. "Hey, Juni, you coming?!" Maple called.

"Uh...yeah! I'll be right there! Just go on without me!"

"Okay, hurry up!" Maple yelled, beginning to run again. The three sirens looked down at the colt curiously. He looked back at them.

"Hey, uh, I heard you guys were hungry..." Hearing this, the three ponies lowered their ears as they were reminded of the pain in their guts. "Well, don't worry. I know where there's food!" He said. The sirens seemed to straighten up at this.

"What?!" Aria said, finally speaking. "Where?!" The little colt smiled, his green eyes shining.

"...follow me."


	17. The Caves

**I felt so bad for Sonata in this chapter .**

* * *

The three followed the little foal closely, wondering where it was he was taking them. Sonata noticed that Aria was lagging behind, so she walked a bit slower until Aria caught up to her. Now that they were in the back, they had an opportunity to talk a bit more privately. She was a bit hesitant to speak up because the look on Aria's face pretty much screamed 'leave me alone' as she trudged along. But this was only proof that she needed to be talked to.

"Uh...Aria?" She began meekly.

"_What_?" Aria said in a somewhat harsh tone, not even looking at Sonata. Sonata's ears drooped.

"Um...are you okay?" Aria snorted.

"Yeah, I'm just _dandy_..." She growled sarcastically. Sonata sighed.

"Aria, look...I think...I think you should apologize to Adagio..." Aria almost stopped in her tracks at hearing this.

"What?! _Me_?! _She_ should apologize! Sonata, she dragged us into that mess!"

"No, Aria. She offered for us to go, and we agreed. We didn't have to go if we didn't want to. And then you two got into that fight for no reason, so I think you should apologize..." Aria stared at Sonata in disbelief, and the blue pony saw her eyes become glossy.

"Oh, so that's it, huh? She's right and I'm wrong?! I shoulda known. That's how it _always_ is!"

"No, Ari, that's not it. It's just that...look, I think you were just frustrated, and you were a little to hard on Adagio, but-"

"No, just stop right there. Sonata...you know and Adagio and I have always butted heads, but I can live with that. But...Sonata..." Arias clenched her eyes shut, a couple tears sliding down her cheek. "...I just can't _handle_ it if you're against me, too...not you..." Sonata let out a shaky sigh, and she could feel her own eyes starting to well up.

"Aria...I'm not against you. I'll never be against you. I love you, Ari. I really do. But...you can take things a little far sometimes...I-"

"Get away from me."

"Wha?"

"I said _get the hell away from me_! If you can't be there for me, then you can just _leave_ me _alone,_ 'cause I can't _take_ it anymore!"

"But I just wanted to help..."

"GET FUCKED, SONATA!" Aria yelled. "Just leave me _alone!"_ Sonata let out a fearful whimper as Aria nipped angrily at her, and she rushed forward, joining up with Adagio again. From the expression on the leader's face, it was obvious she'd heard nearly everything.

"I'm sorry..." Adagio muttered sympathetically, looking over at her. Sonata just whimpered again and hung her head as she walked. She peeked at Aria in the corner of her eye, who was walking even slower than before with her head slightly hung as well.

~o~

The journey was quiet. Adagio kept stealing glances at Sonata, who looked fully downtrodden. She sighed and looked at her surroundings, paying attention to them for the first time since they started walking. Wait a second... Everything looked surprisingly familiar. Too familiar. She then blinked in surprise and confusion as she realized where they were going. They were heading...back to the ocean? Adagio trotted up to where the little foal was walking.

"Child, why are we heading back to the ocean? The food there is dead." The colt laughed.

"No, no, no. Not _in _the ocean. You see, there are a series of cave systems surrounding the ocean in some places." Adagio blinked.

"And...how do you know this?" Suddenly, she saw a flash of panic in his eyes, but it quickly went away when he smiled a bit and answered after a second's hesitation.

"Oh, I...uh...like to explore...a lot."

"Is that so? Well, you must _really _like to explore, because Ponyville is quite a distance from the ocean, child." She said, a hint of suspicion in her voice. The colt gulped.

"Uh...y-yeah. Yeah, I do." Adagio narrowed her eyes at him, but said nothing else as she continued to follow him.

~o~

After a while, the four finally came to a rocky area that lead to the mouth of a large cave. The small colt walked up to it and entered immediately. Adagio followed, but she heard a snort from behind her. She looked behind her and saw Sonata standing there. She looked hesitant to enter.

"Sonata?" The blue pony let out another snort as she backed up a couple steps, her ears pressed tightly against her head.

"D-dagi, I...I don't like how this place feels..." Adagio took a step towards Sonata, but before she could go to her, Aria came from behind and shoved her hard from behind. Sonata stumbled forward and fell to the ground.

"Just move it!" Aria growled. As she lied on the ground, Sonata watched fearfully as Aria stormed past her. She whimpered and curled her legs under her as a way of hugging herself. Adagio shook her head and sighed, going over to Sonata. The blue pony looked up at her leader, her eyes tearing up. Adagio leaned down and nuzzled her.

"Come on, Sonata. It'll be okay..." She whispered soothingly. Sonata looked down before nodding, shakily standing up on all fours. She let out another whimper as she felt a pain in her left foreleg. She looked and saw a large gash caused by the rocky ground when she'd fallen. Adagio closed her eyes and exhaled, turning around.

"I swear, I've almost had enough of her bullshit..." She grumbled. She then looked back at Sonata sympathetically. "Hey..." she said softly. "...come on..." Sonata nodded before following behind Adagio as she started to walk. As Adagio moved, she looked around warily. She couldn't see anything, but it felt like a million eyes were on her. Watching her. She shivered, trying to push the thought away. Aria walked a bit ahead, looking defiant as ever. Adagio rolled her eyes before trotting ahead, going in front of the purple pony, much to the latter's dislike. Even though she hated Aria's guts at the moment, her protective instinct was still dominant over her hate, and she was still willing to risk herself before either of her companions if they just so happened to run into anything in these enormous caves.

They walked until they came to what looked like a main cave, which was even bigger than the last ones. It was much like the other ones, though, except for a curious formation in the middle of it, and a rather...welcoming scent that made the ponies' mouths water. They walked in, and the colt stood proudly.

"I've brought them, m'lady!" He stated loudly. A distant buzzing sound echoed through the caves, making it sound like it could've been coming from anywhere. The three siren-ponies looked around suspiciously. Then, a voice was heard from the back of the cave, but it was too dark to see who it belonged to.

"Excellent..." An elderly-sounding, feminine voice said. Suddenly, a small light glimmered in the darkness, and it was joined by many other small lights, illuminating the once pitch black cave. These lights came from curiously glowing gemstones embedded in the walls. Then, they looked ahead, and before them stood a figure that held the likeness of a pony, but they couldn't really tell because it was shrouded in a cloak. Adagio and Sonata heard Aria gasp.

"Hey! You're that thing I saw on the beach! That cloaked figure! Have you been following us?!" She yelled. A darkish chuckle was heard from the figure, and it spoke again.

"Quiet now, child." It spoke calmly. "You mustn't loose your temper with me. Indeed, it was I whom you saw on the beach, and it is I who saw fit to bring you here." She then turned her attention to the foal. "Thank you...err...Juniper." The small colt dipped his head respectfully before trotting off to an unknown cave. The three then turned their heads at the sound of hoofsteps, and their eyes widened at seeing a line of random ponies blocking off the way they'd come in. Aria looked back at the figure and narrowed her eyes.

"Hey, I thought we were just here to get food! What's the big idea?" The figure chuckled again.

"Your temper amuses me, Aria."

"H-how do you know my name?!"

"That's not important now. Come closer. You will indeed get your food, but the main reason I have brought you here is to strike a deal." This is where Adagio stepped in, and she walked closer to the figure, followed by the other two.

"What kind of deal?"

"Oh, don't worry about that this second. You must be starving." She said. Then, as if on cue, ponies came from the different caves connected to the main one, each one pulling a large cart holding nothing but...fish! And they weren't dead, either. They flipped about, fighting desperately to breath. Some fell from the carts in their attempts to seek out water. Adagio might've even felt bad for them if she wasn't completely starving at the moment. The orange pony looked to the side, and she saw her companions trying desperately not to transform into sirens and jump at the squirming morsels. But their bodies were strangely slowly shifting already, as they were still ponies, but some siren parts were beginning to show themselves, such as the spines on the back, and the fangs. The figure chuckled again as the cart-ridden ponies dumped their heaps onto the ground in one large pile and left.

"Go ahead and eat. No one will stop you." She said. Common sense would've probably told them not to trust the free meal, but the thought of such a meal only heightened the sirens' feral instinct to feed, and their minds now were fully primal as they wasted no time in transforming and tearing at the pile.

* * *

**I think it's pretty obvious what Juniper _really _is, now.**


	18. The Deal

**Sorry this chapter's not long. I just wanted to get something out for this story 'cause it's been a while :)**

* * *

As she watched the sirens devour the fish as if they'd never eaten before, she smirked. _See? You can trust me._ She though, chuckling to herself. Suddenly, she felt something tug on her cloak, and she turned her head. There was a young pony, which was obviously just a changeling in disguise, looking at her. He looked confused and curious.

"Yes? What is it?" She whispered, trying not to let the sirens hear. The pony looked inquisitively at the sirens.

"My queen, why do we have to be ponies? Why can't we show them what we really are? Wouldn't they trust us more then, thinking that we had nothing to hide? It's not like they know what changelings are."

"We don't know that. They could know full well what we are. I'm just taking every necessary precaution. We have to be careful."

"But I don't like this pony form!" He complained, still trying to keep his voice in a whisper.

"Well, I guess you'll just have to _learn_ to like it." She growled. The pony huffed disappointedly before an idea came to his head.

"Well, why can't we just overpower them? I mean, we easily outnumber them, and now they're powerless and weak. Couldn't we just force them to do what we want instead of having to wait so long?"

"Fool!" Chrysalis exclaimed, causing the pony to shrink back a bit. "What part of 'we need them to trust us' did you not understand? They're more likely to do what we want if they trust us. We can't just go straight to violence. Remember: all good things come to those who wait. We just have to be patient." With a sigh, the pony nodded, turning around.

"_Fine_. I just hope you know what you're doing..." He muttered, beginning to walk away. Chrysalis grinned deviously.

"I usually do."

~o~

As their stomachs filled, the sirens' eating had become less desperate. They were relaxed now, eating more casually. Adagio was the first to finish, and she lifted her broad head, looking at her surroundings. Remembering where she was, her eyes widened, and she looked at the elderly pony that had been so kind as to give them a much-needed meal. But she only had one question: why? She licked the last of the previous meal off of her muzzle as her companions continued to make the pile of fish gradually smaller. Adagio stared at the stranger pony for a few more moments before morphing her body back to a pony, her hunger craze now over. She walked cautiously up to the stranger, who watched her with amusement as she approached.

"My dear, is there a reason you're looking at me in such a way?" The stranger asked. Adagio narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"No, it's just...well, it's not that I'm not grateful, but...why would you do this for us? You certainly don't know us. I would remember meeting someone like you." The elderly pony chuckled.

"You're right. We've never met before. But when I heard of your rather unfortunate situation, I thought that I should help in any way possible. You see, I am a big fan of you three." Adagio's eyes widened.

"You...are? I wasn't aware we had fans. From what I could tell, everyone still hates us." She said dryly. The pony chuckled, pulling her hood down, revealing her face. For an elderly pony, she looked surprisingly quite beautiful. Her fur was a very dark gray, and her mane was teal. Something about her seemed familiar, but Adagio couldn't quite figure out what.

"Indeed. Ponies are insufferable creatures at times. There are only a few good ones left out there, it seems. Which, by the way, brings me again to the point of my deal."

"Oh yes, the deal. What is it?" Hoofsteps were heard, and Adagio looked to see Aria and Sonata hesitantly join her, standing on either side of her. The elderly pony paused before grinning.

"What if I told you...that I could give you your power back?"

* * *

**I'm going to post a picture of what Chrysalis looks like now sometime this week. Probably. Or next week. X3**


	19. Temptation

**Yay, longer chapter!**

* * *

Adagio's eyes immediately popped wide open, and she heard her companions gasp. Had she heard this stranger right? Give their power back? No, that's impossible. How could she? Their pendant broke. Unless there was another way to use their magic...

Wait, no! Why was she even considering this?! All that power brought them in the end was greed, mistrust, and grief. She didn't want to go through that again. Not if she could survive without it. As good as it felt, she didn't want to once again get addicted to feeling the negative energy coursing through her, empowering her. Getting others to bend to her indomitable will. She didn't want the repercussions. A previous version of herself most likely would've taken the offer without a second thought, but thanks to the shattering of their pendants, their life had taken a better turn, all things considered. So, as tempting as it was, she would have to reject the offer immediately, before it became to tempting to refuse. Adagio smiled at the stranger politely.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline." The elderly pony seemed slightly take aback and rather surprised.

"But...I haven't even explained the details. You don't know what I have to offer."

"You don't have to explain. If it means getting our powers back and becoming what we once were, then I don't want any of it. Thank you for the offer, though, and thank you for the meal, but I'm afraid I must be going. Good day." Then, without further ado, she turned without another word and began walking back to the tunnel that led to the entrance of the cave. "Aria. Sonata. Come." She said firmly. Sonata turned as well and began following Adagio, but when Aria didn't join her, she turned and looked. Aria just stood there, stiff-legged, seemingly hesitant to leave. "Aria, are you coming?" The purple pony looked at them, then back to the stranger. She stood for a few moments longer before leaving her spot, walking towards her waiting companions. The elderly pony remained uneasily silent, and she seemed indifferent about their departure. In fact, she almost looked somewhat...confident. Deciding to think nothing of it, Adagio nodded before turning back around, beginning to walk again, the other two following behind. Then, suddenly, the ponies from before blocked the entrance once again, creating an impassible wall. Adagio stopped and glared at them, but was surprised when she heard the elderly voice behind her.

"Let them go." The ponies seemed confused, but with some hesitation, they parted, allowing the siren-ponies to pass through. With a nod of thanks, Adagio and her companions left without looking back, heading towards the direction of their home once again.

~o~

Once the sirens left, the elderly pony broke out into a dark cackle. A few of the ponies, ticked at her letting them just leave, marched up to her.

"Queen Chrysalis...why would you let them leave?! We almost had them! I thought you wanted them to join us, and then you let them go just like that?!" Immediately, she cut her laugh off, and her grin was replaced with a scowl, mixed in with the most dominating of glares. She morphed her body, changing back into her original form, and stood over the ponies, who were now not so assertive.

"Idiots, how dare you question me? Can you not trust that I know what I'm doing? No, we did not get them all, but there's one that I'm willing to bet we haven't seen the last of. That purple one...Aria. Her hesitation to leave meant that she was considering it, despite her leader's wishes. Which ALSO means that she's defiant against her leader. And if she's so distant from her companions that she's willing to go against the majority..."

"Then she's more likely to join us!" One of the ponies gasped in realization. Chrysalis nodded in approval.

"Indeed. Now, all we have to do is play the waiting game..." She then paused, and looked over the ponies that were currently in the cave. She pointed at one with her hoof. "You!" A tan pony stiffened at being called upon, and he stood at attention.

"Yes, queen?" Chrysalis grinned.

"Go get the stones ready."

~o~

The sirens, who were now actually in siren form, flew over their territory, scanning for their specific place that they liked to be. Sonata smiled when she saw the familiar rocky formation poking from the waves in the distance.

"I found it!" She called, accelerating towards it exponentially. The other two, seeing it now, followed close behind. Sonata flew down and landed on them easily, and Adagio landed next to her, but Aria did not join them. She just hovered there, staring back in the direction they came from.

"Ari?" Sonata asked. Aria snapped her head back to look at them before looking away with a sigh.

"Uh...I, uh...I need to be alone." She said suddenly, not even hesitating before diving straight into the water, leaving a large splash in her wake. Sonata moved to follow, worried for her, but Adagio stopped her.

"No, leave her be. She's going through something, though I'm not sure what, so she does probably need to be alone right now." Sonata sighed.

"She...she hates me, doesn't she...?" She asked sadly. Adagio gave her a pitiful look.

"Oh, I'm sorry, darling...this is my fault." She paused before continuing. "Look, you know how Aria is sometimes. She tends to get mad at the smallest things, and it seems like she'll never change her mood. But then, when you least expect it, she bounces back just like that. I mean, think about this: Aria was in denial that she actually liked you, and so to cover it, she'd be mean to you and act like she hated you. But then, just like that, you two become a couple." Adagio nudged Sonata's shoulder playfully. "Don't worry, she'll be alright. That seahorse always finds a way to bounce back." Sonata giggled a bit and sighed.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

~o~

Hours later, Sonata slid off the rocks and into the water while Adagio was napping. She narrowed her eyes and scanned the water, her eyes finally landing on a hazy purple figure lying on the ocean floor. She swam down slowly, trying not to create noticeable water currents. She heard a sound coming from Aria, so she went even closer. But she stopped when she realized what the sound was. Crying. Sonata's eyes widened, and her expression changed to worry. She finally decided to speak.

"A-ari...?" The purple siren's head snapped up and she reeled her head around to glare at Sonata.

"Wh-what do you w-want?!" She asked in a slightly sob-filled voice. Sonata lowered her ears.

"Ari...why are you crying...?"

"Leave me alone! I said I wanted to be alone! Now go!"

"But Ari..."

"Now!" A sudden silence fell between the two, and Sonata looked down awkwardly as Aria glared at her. She sighed and looked back up at her.

"Ari, just tell me one thing. Do you...do you still...love me...?" Aria blinked at this and her gaze softened slightly, clearly having not expected such a question. Sonata watched as Aria looked down, remaining silent. She looked up when she heard Sonata scoff.

"What, so that's it? You're just...pushing me away, now? You don't love me anymore?" She swam up to her. "Aria, I want to help you! I want you to tell me what's wrong! Why won't you ever let me in your life anymore?!" Aria's ears flattened against her head, and she looked uneasily at Sonata. She did still love her, even though she was pissed at her. But...she couldn't let her know what was going through her head. She'd be against it, and she knew it was something she had to do. So, despite how much it would hurt Sonata, she spoke.

"Sonata, just...go away..." She mumbled. Sonata jerked her head back in hurt and shock, and she swam backwards a couple feet. Aria watched she she shook her head in disbelief before shooting up to the surface, disappearing above the waves. Aria sighed and settled herself once again on the sandy ocean floor, her mind reeling with regret, pain, fear...and revenge.

~o~

Adagio woke up to the sound of Sonata's shriek of panic. Her eyes snapped open, and her head shot up.

"Sonata?!" She saw said siren looking at her with panic and a hint of guilt, and she appeared on the brink of tears. "Sonata, what's wrong?"

"Oh, it's all my fault! It's all my fault!"

"What is?" Adagio asked, confused. Sonata sniffled.

"I-it's Aria. She...she's gone!"

* * *

**Poor Sonata...and Aria.**


	20. Deal or No Deal

**Woo, new chapter! This is where things really start to gain momentum. Now the story will get a bit more exciting.**

* * *

Aria flew through the air at a casual speed, taking her time, allowing herself to think. Was she doing the right thing? No, probably not. But, then again, when is she ever? Sonata blamed her, Adagio had yelled at her, blaming her. What next? She just couldn't seem to do _anything_ right anymore. Ugh, and she'd just about had _enough_ of Adagio. Her loud mouth, arrogance, and attitude were insufferable. She was right all the time. She's SO perfect. She's the one who makes all the decisions. Aria growled. That damn wench and her bitchiness.

But then…there was Sonata. She was the one she really cared about. But…she just felt so…betrayed. Sonata had said she loved her, but…if she did, then why had she taken Adagio's side? Why did she just…ditch her like that? At a time when she needed her most, she just…turned on her. Why? Didn't she see where Adagio was leading them? How Adagio had screwed them over in the long run? She growled again. No, of course she doesn't. Because Adagio's always right. Which is why Aria was doing what she was. Adagio hated her, and Sonata had taken that hag's side. And everyone else hated her, too. So…what was the point of going on further like this? What was the point of pretending to be something she wasn't just to please the ones she cared about? No one cared about her, so there wasn't a reason for her to be to their standard. She didn't care what others thought, because she knew what she was.

She was alone.

She was hurt.

But most of all…she was angry.

She was a siren, and she would _be_ one.

Suddenly, without warning, she felt a presence, and she shook her head from her thoughts. She looked around, but there was no one there. Then, she heard a sickeningly familiar voice. _Yes. Go. Quickly. You must go._ Aria shook her head and growled.

"Dear Celestia, not you again!" She snarled, recognizing the voice immediately. It was her other self. The voice chuckled darkly. _I knew you'd come under the influence eventually. I mean, you're will is about as weak as Sonata's brainpower. It was pretty much a given._ "Hey! Don't you dare talk about her like that!" _Oh, defending the one who didn't care enough to defend you? How beautiful. And how…stupid._ "What do you mean?" _Oh, don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. You shouldn't waste you're energy caring about someone when they won't use any to care about you. So now you have to look after number one. Sonata's in the past, now. She didn't_ really_ love you. She only held you back. But now you're free. You're the leader now. You._ "What? Leader of who?" _Yourself. You can do whatever you want now, and no one will hold you back. No one will stop you. No one will say you can't. You are your own leader, and that is the best kind._ "So…it's okay to be what I once was? To bend people to my will? Have it all to myself?" _That's right. All to yourself. And who cares if others get mad? You can just get your newly-regained powers and wipe them out. You'd be…unstoppable. Star Swirl isn't around anymore. No one will be able to stand against your might._ Aria gasped. "That's right! That old wizard isn't around anymore." She then laughed. "Hahaha! This is perfect! You were right! It's time I follow my _own_ path! Screw Adagio! I don't need anyone!" _Yes! That's right! You got it! Now go! You must hurry! Hurry to your destiny of ruling over Equestria once again!_

Without hesitation, Aria quickened her pace and slashed at the water as she sliced through the air, heading towards the caves where the strange, old mare dwelled.

~o~

When she arrived, she morphed into a pony so that she'd be able to fit through the tunnel that lead to the main caves. As she walked, she could feel eyes on her. Watching her every move. Her ears pinned against her head, and she walked more cautiously, her gaze flitting about her surroundings. She walked until she came to the main cave from before, only this time, it was already lit, and she could see everything. But there was no one. No ponies. No elderly pony. No one. She looked around, her ears perked for any sounds. Suddenly, she heard something behind her, and she turned. There, standing between her and the exit, was the one she was looking for. Her hood was still down, exposing her oddly colored mane, and her even odder colored eyes. She smiled warmly at Aria, but there was also a hint of mischief in her expression, though Aria didn't notice.

"Welcome, darling! I'm so glad you returned." She said.

"Uh…h-hi." Aria muttered unsurely. The pony chuckled.

"Now, now, don't be shy, dear. You're welcome in this place." She then paused, and walked up to Aria. "So…I imagine you're here to accept the offer I made." She asked, almost too eagerly. Aria nodded. "Excellent! Follow me, my dear." She said, walking towards the center of the cave. Aria followed close behind. When the old mare stopped, she sat on her haunches and clapped her forehooves together a couple times. In no time at all, a tan pony came in holding a box on his back. The elderly pony smiled in thanks as she picked the box up with her magic before shooing the pony away again. She set the box down upon a small rocky formation jutting out of the ground that she supposedly doubled as some sort of table.

"Hey, so…uh…" Aria began awkwardly. "…I never really got your name." The elderly pony looked at Aria with slight surprise, and a flicker of anxiety crossed her face. But in a moment, it was gone, and she smiled warmly again.

"Oh, where are my manners?" She chuckled. "My name is…Niova."

"Oh. What…what does that mean?"

"It means chang-" She cut off her own sentence of before she could finish, and she gulped. "Uh…actually, it doesn't _really_ mean anything. It's just a name from where I come from."

"Is that so?"

"Indeed." She said, moving to open the box.

"And where exactly do you come fro-"

"Enough questions!" The pony huffed, then straightened herself to look proper again. "Sorry, it's just...I dislike talking about my past is all." She lied. But Aria thought nothing suspicious of the old pony, and nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, okay. I get it. I won't ask anymore personal questions." 'Niova' smiled and nodded gratefully.

"Okay, back on topic again..." She began. "...let me explain to you the details of the deal." Aria watched as she opened the box, revealing three necklaces with blue gems as pendants, and one with a dark purple pendant. The purple was so dark, it almost looked black. But they weren't heptagonal like the sirens' previous pendants. These ones were oval. Aria raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, sooo...why are there four?"

"Ah, well, you see...I was hoping that maybe your sister sirens might join as well, but this is unfortunately not what has happened." Aria scoffed at the term 'sister sirens' before speaking.

"Yeah, well...they wouldn't be of much use anyway. They're hopeless idiots." She growled. 'Niova' sighed in fake sympathy.

"Well, for what it's worth, I'm sorry you three aren't as close as you once were, but just think of it like this: the less you have to share the power, the more you will have all to yourself." Aria grinned.

"Indeed. Now, about the stones..."

"Ah, yes, the stones. You see, you can choose any of the blue ones. They're all the same. But the purple one is mine."

"And what is the purple one for?"

"It's just...it just acts as an enhancement to the magic in the blue stones." She lied. "You see, these stones aren't 'pure,' as your siren gems were. These were artificially created, therefore they aren't as strong. So, in order for you to preform to the best of your ability, it needs this purple one to act as a medium to channel the magic needed." Aria nodded, pretending to understand what the old hag was blathering on about. She was just eager to get her hooves on the gem. She wanted to show everypony that _she_ was top dog now. She looked at the gems.

_And there's only one way to do it._

* * *

**Welp, everypony's screwed XD**


	21. Altercation-Part 1

**This...this has to be my _absolute favorite_ chapter so far. This one and the next one will be good :3**

* * *

"Okay, Sonata, calm down." Adagio tried to say in a soothing voice. Sonata glared at her.

"Calm down? _Calm down_?! Adagio, Aria's missing, and it's because of me! There _is_ no calming down!"

"Okay, just...tell me what happened that lead to this." Sonata finally seemed to deflate, and she sighed, staring downward.

"I...we...got in another fight. And...and she told me to go away, and I just left her there, even though I knew she needed me there, even if she didn't want me. And it was even my fault that we fought. If I hadn't done anything, then this wouldn't have happened! I'm so _stupid_!" Adagio gave her a sympathetic look and flew up to her, nuzzling her cheek comfortingly.

"No, this isn't all on you. We both did things to push her over the edge. But she also needs to find ways to control herself, too." Adagio sighed, shaking her head. "Looks like we all got our own damn issues..."

"Well, we need go to find her. Who knows where she could be by now!" Adagio closed her eyes wearily.

"I think I know full well where she is..."

~o~

Sonata followed as Adagio flew at near breakneck speed. Sonata was surprised. Was Adagio really so worried about Aria? She'd thought that the two hated each other. And now, Adagio's going as fast as she can to get to her. A small smile appeared on Sonata's face, despite her worry, because she now had renewed hope that the two might have a chance at becoming friends again. Or at least to the point where they weren't at each other's throats 24/7.

Sonata then became curious as to where they were going, remembering that they were headed to a specific place that Adagio knew. Where? Where could Aria possibly be? She then blinked as she saw a a bunch of rocks that lead to bigger rocks, which eventually lead to a cave mouth. _Oh, the cave! Of course! Haha, I knew that! Psht, it was _so_ obvious. Heh. Yeah._ The two flew down to the opening, and they were about to morph into ponies to be able to fit in the smaller entrance, but they didn't need to. The old pony from before stepped out of the entrance just as they stopped in front of it.

"Ah, you're here." She said in a knowing voice. Had she been expecting them? Adagio huffed angrily and lowered her head so that she was face to face with the pony, glaring straight into her eyes.

"Where. Is. She?" She growled. The elderly pony raised a hoof and tapped her chin in fake contemplation.

"She? Who is _she_?" She then paused, and a malicious grin spread across her face. "Oh, you're talking about your friend, yes?" Adagio growled louder.

"Answer me, hag!" The pony chuckled.

"Now, now, I wouldn't talk to me like that if I were you. Especially since I have _this_." She said as she caressed a purple gemstone that hung around her neck with a hoof. Adagio snarled.

"Just tell me where she is!" The pony's face then became serious, and she looked unamusedly at Adagio.

"Well, if you _must_ know, she's probably due west a little bit from here." Adagio raised an eyebrow.

"West? But...that's in the direction of..." Adagio gasped in realization, and she and Sonata looked at each other in fear.

"_Ponyville_!"

~o~

The two sirens flew all the way to the little town. As they neared it, they could hear a familiar soft melody in the distance. Adagio gulped in fear of what she would find. As the town came into view, Adagio and Sonata stopped dead in their tracks. Before them lay nothing but mayhem. Nearly all of the ponies were outside, and all that could be heard was yelling, stomping, and angry snorts. But above the sound of that was a soft, slow, humming melody that could even put a siren in a trance. The two looked for the source of the beautiful sound, but couldn't find it. Then, suddenly, they heard a voice.

"Hey, there they are! Here to cause more trouble!" They looked down and saw a small group of ponies looking up at them.

"We're not here to cause anyone any trouble!" Sonata protested. A yellow stallion took a step forward.

"Oh, really? Then why _are_ you here? It can't be for anything good." Adagio growled.

"The reason we're here isn't any of your business! We just-wait...where's Princess Twilight?!" She asked. One of the mares scoffed.

"As if we'd tell you."

"Please! We need to know!" Sonata yelled. The stallion snorted.

"Why?"

"Because we need her help!" The stallion grinned.

"Well, then, you're out of luck, because she's not here. Not even the Princess of Friendship could fix this on her own. She's in Canterlot asking Celestia for aid in her efforts to get rid of you three."

"_What_?!" Sonata yelped. A pink mare stepped forward.

"Haven't you heard? She blames you for this." She said, motioning to the ponies who were arguing. She was surprised they couldn't see the green mist swirling around them. "So, she went to Celestia. You'll be gone for good soon enough...exiled once again with no way back."

Sonata let out a fearful whimper, but Adagio flew next to her and glared at the ponies.

"That's enough out of you! Come on, Sonata." Adagio said, motioning with her head in a different direction. Sonata nodded hesitantly and followed. As they flew slowly over the town, Sonata nudged Adagio. The golden siren looked over at her.

"Hey, Dagi? How come that group of ponies weren't fighting like everyone else?" Adagio shrugged.

"They might not have been affected yet. Sometimes, it takes longer for some ponies. Remember: they're a bit less susceptible than humans." Sonata nodded in understanding.

"Oh, okay. I forgot. I was so used to collecting from humans after all that time. I forgot that humans are easier to take control of."

"Silly siren." Adagio said, the slightest of smiles appearing on her face. They continued to follow the sound of the hypnotizing tune, and it lead them to what looked like the schoolhouse. And there, standing on the roof, was a familiar purple pony. Adagio growled before accelerating instantaneously towards her. Sonata followed more hesitantly. Aria saw the golden siren coming towards her. She grinned. _Now look who's on top, Dagi._ Adagio circled the building a couple times before stopping in front of Aria. The purple pony cut her singing and smiled at her.

"Well, well, well...what do we have here?" She said, still grinning. Adagio huffed angrily at her.

"Aria, I'm disappointed in you. I thought you were stronger than this!"

"_Stronger_? Ha! I _am_ stronger! " She then morphed her body into siren form, and flew up until she was in Adagio's face. "And now I'm bigger, stronger, and better...than _you_." She growled. Adagio shook her head.

"Aria...what _happened_ to you? I thought you were better than this. I thought...I thought you were my friend..." Aria scoffed.

"Yeah, that _friendship_ bullcrap fooled me for a while, but then I realized something. Why should I _try_ to gain others' adoration when I can just _force_ them to? And by doing what I _love_! I don't have to bend to fit others' preferences. Now, they bend to _mine**.**_"

"Aria, this isn't right, and you know it! Take that wretched thing off!" Aria put a hoof over the pendent around her neck protectively.

"No way! For once, I feel like I'm actually worth something! And I can do whatever I want now without you breathing down my neck every second of every day! I should've been leader from the beginning! I would've actually gotten us somewhere! But now..._I_ am more powerful than _you_!" As she said this, she inhaled deeply and let out a shriek, causing the other two sirens to be blasted back a couple feet. Adagio, for the first time since knowing her, looked at Aria with pure, hopeless fear. She was truly terrified, because she knew the power that the siren had, and without their powers, she could probably easily kill them if she wanted to. But then...why didn't she? If she hated them so much, then why not just be done with it?

Adagio blinked in surprise when Sonata suddenly flew forward. She slowly went up to Aria and looked at her pleadingly and apologetically.

"A-aria..." Sonata muttered. Aria looked at her, and her gaze visibly softened a bit. "...Aria, why are you doing this...?" She asked softly. Aria stayed silent for a bit until her expression twisted with anger, and she leaned forward so that her face was an inch away from Sonata's.

"Are you _stupid_ or something?!" She snarled. Sonata whimpered. "How could you even _ask_ a question like that?! You _know_ why I did this! I was tired of Adagio leading us into ditches, and you always blindly following her! Even when you had a chance to take either of our sides, you chose _hers_! I thought you cared about me, Sonata! You're the only person I really trusted, and you just turned your back on me!" She then paused, and her voice lowered a bit as she seethed. "And to answer your question from earlier...I _did_ love you. Even when I told you to go away. I just didn't want to hurt you. But now...now I _hate_ you!" She screeched, her eyes beginning to water. Sonata gasped and backed up, tears not wasting any time pouring from her eyes and down her cheeks. She began sobbing. Adagio growled and went between the two.

"Aria, what is _wrong_ with you?! I mean, you've always been a selfish, egotistical, defiant bitch, but you were never _this_ bad!" Aria snarled at her.

"Adagio...you have three seconds to leave before I make you wish you'd never met me." She paused. "_One_." Adagio scoffed.

"It's too late for that."

"_Two_." Aria growled. Adagio rolled her eyes.

"Aria, this is childish."

"_Two_ and a _half_~"

"Aria, seriousl-"

"_THREE_!"

And with that, the purple siren lunged at Adagio's throat.

* * *

**...yeah.**


	22. Altercation-Part 2

**Things get a bit cray-cray here X3**

* * *

Adagio roared as Aria's jaws wrapped around her throat. Sonata gasped and her ears pinned against her head. Aria, fangs embedded in the golden siren's neck, shook her head violently, tearing the flesh. Adagio let out another screech of pain before bringing her massive tail around and slamming it into Aria's face while simultaneously trying to snap at her. The purple siren's grip loosened a bit, but she did not let go. Blood was visible now, seeping from the punctures in Adagio's neck.

"Aria, stop it! _Please_!" Sonata begged, sobbing harder. But Aria didn't listen, and she continued her assault on her former leader. Adagio tried wriggling loose from her powerful grip, but it only proved to open the wounds further, so she had no choice but to continue trying to get her to let go first. She swung her tail around and slammed it into her face again, harder than before, this time hitting her eye. Aria roared angrily, letting go of the golden siren. Adagio quickly got out of reach, and flew up next to Sonata, her neck dripping with blood from the various wounds dotting it. Aria shook her head, the right side of her head aching from the impact. She stopped and looked at Adagio and Sonata, glaring at them with hatred. Adagio looked at her pleadingly.

"Aria..." She began, her voice sounding weak from the pain and that fact that the wounds were around her throat. "...please stop this..." Aria snarled.

"I'm not doing what you say anymore!" She yelled angrily.

"Aria, please liste-"

"No! I don't want to hear what you have to say! I'm done with you! _Both_ of you! Now _die_!" She screeched, lunging at Adagio again. Adagio dodged and flew a couple feet away.

"Aria! I don't want to fight you!"

"Then stay still, and I'll make it quick!" She yelled, lunging again. Adagio dodged once again, but didn't take into account her tail, which Aria bit down on and used it to pull her back towards her. Adagio then realized that she didn't have a choice but to fight back. But with Aria's newly reclaimed power and her own powerlessness, she didn't believe she stood much of a chance against the enraged siren. swinging her head around, Adagio snapped at Aria, successfully managing to wrap her jaws around her left foreleg. Aria snarled and whipped Adagio with her tail, but it didn't have much effect. The siren's hide was too tough. Adagio squeezed her eyes shut and bit down harder, feeling Aria's blood flowing between her teeth now. Aria growled and let go of Adagio's tail. "You filthy bitch!" She yelled, biting down on her already injured neck again, harder this time. Adagio started feeling lightheaded, and she let go of Aria's leg. Her vision blurred slightly, and she blinked a couple times to bring it back into focus.

Realization came to her that there was nothing she could do now. In the state and position she was in, she could hardly fight back successfully. She groaned in pain as Aria's fangs sunk deeper into her neck. All she could do was accept her fate, now. At least she tried. Adagio closed her eyes and let herself go limp in defeat. Aria smiled victoriously as she felt Adagio falter in her grip. _Not so strong and proud now, huh Dagi? __Looks like I- _Aria's thoughts were interrupted as something barreled into her, sending her flying back a few feet. Adagio seemed to jolt in surprise, but still did nothing. Aria snarled when she felt something clamp down on her tail. She looked and was surprised when she saw Sonata. _How dare she attack me?_ Aria roared at her, dropping Adagio in the process. But Aria didn't care. She bared her fangs and lunged at Sonata. The blue siren let go and moved out of the way just in time for Aria to accidentally snag her own tail. Aria whimpered in pain before letting go and glaring at Sonata.

"If someone stupid like me can outsmart you that easily, then you must not be that bright." She taunted. Aria snarled in rage and lunged at her again. Sonata flew out of the way and lunged at Aria, grabbing ahold of her throat. But she didn't want to hurt her, so she only bit hard enough to hold her in place so she wouldn't be able to attack her.

"Rgh! Sonata, I'll kill you!" Aria yelled, trying to wriggle out of her grip. But after her fight with Adagio, she was slightly exhausted. But Sonata hadn't been fighting, so she was able to keep the other siren at bay. Sonata lowered her ears and looked at Aria sympathetically. _Aria...this isn't you..._ Sonata sighed before flying down to the ground and lying Aria down on the grass. She held her down with her forelegs and released her neck. Aria tried flying back into the air, but Sonata held her down firmly. After a few more minutes of nonstop vain attempts to wriggle to freedom, Aria let out a final huff before allowing herself to go limp under Sonata's weight. Sonata looked down at her.

"Aria, please stop this..." The purple siren growled.

"Go fuck yourself."

"Aria..." Sonata's eyes began to water. "...please come back to me. I...I miss you. I miss _us_. Please." To this, Aria said nothing. She just stared off into the distance, as if looking at something no one else could see. Sonata sighed and looked over, spotting Adagio lying on the ground not too far away, a small pool of blood around her neck. Sonata wanted desperately to go over and help her, but she didn't want to risk Aria doing something if she were to let her go. "Aria...I love you more than anything. You need to understand that. Even if you hate me, I will always love you." Sonata leaned down and brushed her muzzle against Aria's trembling cheek. "You mean the world to me..." A couple tears fell from Sonata's eyes and landed on Aria's snout. The purple siren's ears pressed against her head and she shook the droplets off. She then craned her neck to look at Sonata as best she could, and she saw tears streaming down her cheeks. Aria looked down and closed her eyes. She stayed like that for a few more moments before sighing and looking at Adagio's motionless form a few yards away. She then looked at Sonata again, nearly all anger and hatred gone from her expression.

"I'm sorry..." She muttered. Sonata looked at her in surprise.

"Wha?" Then, suddenly, Aria bit Sonata's leg, causing the blue siren to yelp and pull back, releasing her captive. Aria moved out from under her and flew out of reach. She looked back at Sonata, who was looking at her wide-eyed with confusion and pleading.

"...but I can't come back." She finished before turning and darting away, flying quickly out of sight to who-knows-where.

"Aria..." Sonata wanted to go after her, but she remembered the other siren, and looked over at Adagio. "Dagi!" She yelped, flying over to her. She pushed her head a bit with her muzzle, praying for a reaction. Thankfully, the golden siren began coughing, and she opened her eyes.

"S-sonata?"

"Hey, Dagi..." She whispered, attempting a smile, but it failed when she saw a sliver of blood begin coming from the corner of her mouth. "Adagio, we need to get you to Princess Twilight. She knows Zecora, remember? She can help you." With a groan, Adagio managed to set herself upright and rest on her forelegs. She shook her head slowly.

"No. No, I'll be fine." She said in a low, strained voice.

"But you're really hurt! You're bleeding a lot!" Adagio smiled slightly and nuzzled Sonata.

"I said I'll be fine. This is nothing. I've been through a lot worse." She said before looking blankly ahead, seemingly recalling a distant haunting memory. She then shook her head and blinked, looking at Sonata. She smiled again. "I'll be okay." She said reassuringly. Sonata furrowed her brows in worry, but didn't press further. Adagio suddenly began looking around rapidly. "Wait, where's Aria?!" Sonata looked down.

"She left..."

"She did?" Sonata nodded.

"I tried to help her. To talk some sense into her. I told her I loved her. It actually seemed to calm her down, but then she said 'I'm sorry, but I can't come back' and then she just left." Adagio tilted her head.

"That's so strange. I was sure at least one of us would end up dead with how persistent and angry she was. There's just no talking sense into her." Adagio shook her head. Then, suddenly, she reeled her head back before breaking out into another coughing fit, and Sonata whimpered when she saw blood spurt from her mouth with the final cough.

"Adagio, you-"

"I'm fine." Adagio insisted, with a sense of finality in her tone. Sonata sighed.

"Well, do you at least want me to help you get back home?" She asked. Adagio looked at her with a small, slightly sarcastic smile, and she chuckled a bit.

"That would be lovely..."

* * *

**I fangirled at the part where Sonata was talking to Aria XD**


	23. Falling Apart

**Just posted a picture on DeviantArt of the fight between Aria and Adagio. Remember, it's in the 'Fanfic Scenes' folder.**

* * *

Getting back to their home took longer than usual due to Adagio's injury. As they settled on the rocks, Adagio hissed in pain when she tried to lie her head down. Sonata looked at her sympathetically. Her wounds had stopped bleeding for the most part. Some of them were still trickling a bit, but it had otherwise ceased. But she had lost a lot of blood, and from a very vital area. Adagio let out a pained groan as she tried to get comfortable, her head lying wearily on the rocky surface. Sonata sighed and leaned her head down, nuzzling Adagio's cheek. The golden siren moved only her eyes to look at her, and she smiled a bit, as if to say 'don't worry about me.' Sonata smiled back and turned her attention to Adagio's wounded neck. She leaned down and began licking at the open wounds, and cleaning and dried blood that was there. Adagio just lied there, letting Sonata work on her.

About half an hour later, all was quiet. Adagio continued lying motionless, and Sonata kept a watchful vigil over her the whole time. She looked Adagio's wounds over. There were really deep punctures in her neck, and there were more minor ones on her tail. She blinked when she suddenly realized something, and she let out a sad sigh.

"Dagi?" She said. All she got was a 'hm?' in response. Sonata looked at her. "W-well...it's just...sometimes I think...sometimes I think that it might've been better if we stayed in the human world..." This caused Adagio to finally look at her, even lifting her head up, despite the pain.

"What? _Why_? That place was hell!"

"And this isn't?" Sonata asked incredulously. "Adagio, you think things are better here, but they're just as bad, if not worse. Yes, some humans and dark, cold, and heartless. Some are selfish, violent, and use weapons and things to hurt one another. I'm sure you've had quite the experience with that while you were living on the streets..." Adagio lowered her ears. "...but it's just as bad here. Us as sirens...we're more dangerous than before. To others...and to ourselves. We have fangs, we're carnivorous, and we're wild. In these forms, we're more dangerous. I mean, when you slapped me all that time ago, it felt like the worst thing to happen in the world. That was the worst that things ever got between us. But look at you. You're bleeding, and it was inflicted by one of our own kind. She almost killed you. Maybe we'd just be better off as humans in a world where this magic doesn't exist, where we wouldn't be able to hurt each other so badly..." She paused and sighed again. "Maybe we _would _be better off getting banished again..." Adagio looked down.

"Sonata...I...wow, I...never thought of it that way..." She muttered disbelievingly. She then sighed. "But you're wrong. At least partially. We're not more dangerous. We just have the _capability _to be more dangerous. We're fine, but Aria has...she has a hard time controlling herself sometimes. Her mind isn't stable. It never had been. And she's very impulsive. That's not an easy thing to fix... Now, you're probably not going to like this, but..." She looked at Sonata sadly. "...maybe it would be best if..._Aria_ was banished...and _we_ stayed _here_..." Sonata jerked her head back in shock.

"What?! No!"

"Sonata...look-"

"No, _you _look!" Sonata yelled. "I'm not just going to _give up _on her! I'm not a quitter like you! I love her, and I'm going to do whatever it takes to get her back! With or without your help!" Adagio blinked in surprise at the outburst.

"Sonata, I'm sorry, but she's-"

"She's hurting, that's what! She feels like we don't care about her! She felt like she was nothing! And so she became something dangerously powerful because _you_ made her feel that way! And now we have to help her see another way! Now, you can come or not, but I'm going to go try to help her!" Sonata yelled as she positioned herself to take off from the rocks. Adagio sighed.

"Sonata, there's not much I can do in this state. I wouldn't stand a chance if she decided to attack again." Sonata just looked at her surprisingly coldly.

"Then stay here and rot for all I care." She said before taking off without another word.

"Sonata..." Adagio muttered, watching we leave. With a defeated sigh, Adagio let her head fall onto the rocks and lied there, motionless. _We're falling apart..._

~o~

Miles south of Ponyville, Aria flew over the quaint little town of Appleloosa. She grinned as she saw the ponies below. She saw a couple ponies making some sort of transaction. _Perfect. _She breathed inward before letting out a slow, soft, beautiful sound. It started low, but built. The two ponies stopped for a moment before they suddenly started arguing. Then one of them started yelling about things being overpriced, and the other one contradicting what they said. Aria giggled. What joy it brought her to have control over others and their actions. It almost made her forget about what Sonata had said to her. Almost.

~o~

Sonata flew precariously over Ponyville, trying to stay out of sight of the ponies. She was looking to see if Aria was still here. But, so far, she'd had no luck. She was about to leave and check another town when she heard a yell. She looked down and saw a white stallion pointing to her with his hoof and yelling at others. She gasped. She was about to fly away to safety when she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her side. She whimpered and looked, seeing a gash on her abdomen. Then, she ducked when a pitchfork was hurled her way. Then another. And another. One of them must've hit her. It wasn't a serious wound, and she could easily get away, but before she could, something blasted her in the chest, and she let out a wail when she felt her body spasm, and she dropped from the air like a stone.

She heard laughs and cheers come from the ponies as she hit the ground hard. The ponies gathered around her.

"Nice one, Lyra! Ya got her!" She heard a stallion say. Her eyes opened slowly, and her vision focused on a pale blue unicorn with a dark grey mane standing over her face. Her eyes shifted over to a light green pony, this one a mare, who was waving a hoof dismissively.

"Eh, it was nothing, Neon. Just a simple temporary partial-paralysis spell." The stallion, supposedly named Neon, grinned down at her.

"Yeah, and now we got you." He said. Sonata began trembling as the other ponies began crowding around her, glaring angrily at her. She whimpered.

"_What's going on here_?!" A sudden, powerful voice said. The ponies immediately turned their heads, and they gasped at who they saw.

* * *

**I _think _it's obvious who it is. I dunno. What do I know about life?**


	24. The Plan

**Not much really happens in this one...**

**Just some little stuff to move the plot along :3**

* * *

Sonata gasped when the crowd parted, and she saw a large, graceful, white alicorn standing there. She recognized who it was, but it was a face she hadn't seen in hundreds of years. But the last time she'd seen her, she and her fellow sirens had been attacking Canterlot. And that's...that's when Star Swirl came. The large alicorn stepped forward, her expression stern as her eyes were locked with Sonata's. She walked through the crowd, stopping right in front of the siren. She looked down at her.

"Hello, Sonata." She said it a voice that hinted that she wasn't exactly happy to see her again. Sonata's ears lowered submissively. Then, suddenly, a familiar purple alicorn appeared next to her, and looked at the siren in surprise and worry.

"Sonata! What happened?!" The blue siren growled.

"Why don't you ask them..." She muttered, motioning to the ponies surrounding them. Celestia looked to her subjects.

"Would somepony mind explaining to me what happened here?" She demanded. Lyra stepped forward.

"The sirens had been causing mayhem among us, and so, when I saw her, I did what any sensible pony would do, and temporarily paralyzed her so that she wouldn't be able to get away and cause more trouble." She said with a proud smile. Celestia shook her head before lowering it, touching her horn to Sonata's head. With a glow, the siren felt her body spasm again, similar to how she felt when she was struck with the paralysis spell, before Celestia lifted her head again. Sonata blinked in surprise when she found herself suddenly able to move her tail, then her legs, and finally, she was able to lift her head from the ground. Celestia looked at Lyra.

"Next time, leave such things to the authorities of the law to determine what should be done." She said unhappily. The mare seemed to deflate at this, and she pouted. Celestia then looked to Sonata again.

"You. Follow me." She said. Sonata looked nervously at her, but nodded.

"Y-yeah, okay..." She muttered. Celestia turned and spread out her large wings.

"Princess Celestia, what should _I_ do?" Twilight asked.

"You come with us." She said. Twilight nodded and spread her wings out as well. The two alicorns took off into the air at incredible speed, and Sonata lifted into the air and took off after them. She lowered her ears sadly when she heard the disgruntled sounds of the crowd behind her.

~o~

Sonata followed close behind the two curiously until she realized where they were headed. Her eyes widened, and she gulped. Canterlot. They were heading to Canterlot. Sonata wanted to disappear right then and there, because the last time she was there, she didn't exactly make friends. Quite the opposite. They flew over the gorgeous city, over the buildings, over the royal guards, and over all the other ponies that lived there...who were glaring suspiciously at her. She tried not to look at them and keep moving. In no time at all, they were at the entrance to Princess Celestia's castle. Sonata knew what to do, and transformed into a pony. With a nod from Celestia, they were let inside by the royal guards. She led the two to a lone room where there was a large table and many chairs surrounding it. It appeared to be some sort of conference room. Twilight entered and hopped onto one of the chairs. Celestia stood by the door, waiting for Sonata to enter. Sonata hesitantly slinked inside and went up to a chair. Celestia entered as well and closed the door behind them. She walked over and took a seat on the largest of the chairs.

"Sit." She told the blue pony. Sonata sighed and climbed into one of the chairs. She sat down and looked at Celestia both expectantly and anxiously. Why did the ruler of the land want her, and why did she want to talk to her personally? Finally after a bit of an awkward silence, Celestia unexpectedly flashed a small smile at the siren-pony. "Sonata Dusk." She said.

"Y-yes?" She responded unsurely.

"Do you know why I've brought you here?" Sonata looked to her left, then to her right, searching for an answer. Finally, she shrugged her shoulders and shook her head slowly. Celestia smiled warmly at her. "Don't worry, you're not in trouble." She assured her. "Now, I've heard reports from my dear fellow princess, Twilight, that ponies have begun fighting over trivial matters, and that it's been happening in other places, too. We just got news of fights breaking out in Appleloosa and only recently in Baltimare."

"I-I swear it wasn't me! I promise!" Sonata defended. Celestia chuckled.

"I know it wasn't you. A sweet thing like you wouldn't be likely to cause such...unorthodox chaos. Plus, you're not in Baltimare, obviously, so it can't be you." She said. Twilight smiled at the blue pony.

"That's right." Her smiled then faded to a more serious expression. "But that rules only one out. There are three of you. The only question is...is it Adagio or Aria? Do you know who's been doing this, Sonata? Or is it both of them?" Sonata shook her head, but stayed silent. "Then who is it?" Sonata lowered her ears and looked to the side. She didn't want to tell them. Now only did she not want to sell out the one she loved in fear that they might banish her or something just as bad, but she knew that, by doing so, Aria would know that she had told them, which would cause the other siren to hate her even more, and probably never be able to trust her again. Sonata would rather die than let them be separated for good. She now knew what she had to do.

"I...I can't tell you." Celestia raised an eyebrow.

"Why not?"

"Because...because I think...that I can do it alone." Twilight looked bewildered.

"But wouldn't you rather have the royal guard backing you up?" She asked. Sonata shook her head.

"No, this is something personal. This isn't your business or concern. It's mine." Celestia banged a hoof on the table, causing Sonata to flinch.

"This is happening _all over_ Equestria. _My_ land. I think it's within my concern." Sonata looked at her pleadingly.

"No, please, I _have_ to do this! There's no other way! She won't listen to anyone, but she's more likely to listen to someone who's closer to her." Sonata said, putting a hoof to her chest. Celestia and Twilight exchanged glances before turning back to Sonata. Celestia sighed.

"Fine. I will give you three days to neutralize the source of the chaos. And if you fail, then I will have no choice but to take the situation into my own hooves, and I can promise that I will be a lot less merciful." Sonata gulped, but dipped her head respectfully.

"Yes, ma'am." She said. "Thank you."

* * *

**Who thinks Sonata can do it?**


	25. The Dragon

**Things get sorta interesting here :3**

* * *

Sonata walked through the streets of Baltimare. She was looking for the purple siren, but there was no sign that she was there. No singing, no fighting ponies. It seemed like a normal city day. She looked around curiously, confusion written on her expression. Where was she? Did she already move on to another town? The blue pony's spirit dropped at the possibility.

Sonata was now trotting on the outskirts of the city when she heard a low rumbling noise. She followed it, and it lead her to an old barn that looked worn and abandoned. The roof was in shambles, leaving miniscule shelter to whatever was inside. But the sound was coming from within. Sonata slowly moved towards the barn and nudged open the large doors with her snout. She gasped at what she saw. There Aria was, in siren form, sleeping on the large piles of hay. Her expression was peaceful and content, and that made Sonata smile a bit at the sight. As the purple siren steadily breathed in and out, a low rumbling sound escaped when she exhaled.

Sonata slowly went up to her. She didn't have to be too quiet because the sound of Aria's breathing drowned out her light hoofsteps. She went up to where her head was and her eyes landed on the gemstone around her neck. Her eyes widened. _It's right there..._ She though. _Maybe if I can just...take it off of her, it might rid her of the corruption! And she's asleep right now, anyway..._ Sonata leaned towards the glimmering blue stone. She took a hoof and placed it gently on the gem. _Here goes nothing..._ But before she could do anything, Aria began to stir, and Sonata froze, her body going stiff with fear. But the purple siren didn't wake up. She did, however, roll over a bit, causing Sonata to loose sight of the gem under the mass of the siren. She growled slightly. _Damn it, Aria..._ Sonata slowly tried to make her way around to the other side of the sleeping siren, nearly getting swallowed by all the hay that lay around. She was able to get to a point where the gem was visible once more, and she slowly moved towards it again. She looked at Aria's face cautiously. Her eyes were still closed. Sonata held her breath and reached for the gem. Currently, she was in between the back wall of the barn and the carnivorous siren, with nearly just enough room to fit her. She would have to be careful not to wake Aria up. For if she did, she wouldn't be able to get out in time, making her a suitable meal for the other creature. She narrowed her eyes at the oval gem. She couldn't see perfectly in the barn, despite the lack of a full roof, but the gem gleamed in the dim light, so she knew where to grab. She took her hoof and tried to put it under the lace securing it to the siren's neck so that she could hook it and hopefully rip it off. But...where was the lace? She delicately felt the siren's neck so as to not wake her up, but her search became more frantic when she couldn't locate one. Wait, was it...attached to her?! No, that can't be...right? How could a different gem attach to a siren?! She wished she'd payed more attention to detail when she and Adagio had had that little altercation with her. She could've seen what it really was. But if it _is_ attached to her, then there'd be no way to get rid of it without hurting her, unless she was out of siren form.

Sonata blinked herself back to reality when she noticed a change in the atmosphere. The heavy, deep-sleep breathing. It had stopped. Her eyes widened, and she turned her head. Her ears immediately went back when she saw a large, purple eye glaring at her. She stood rigid, and dared not move. Their eyes were locked, and both were still as could be. Neither one moved, or even dared blink. Sonata's breath caught in her throat, and she was internally panicking. She was trapped. There'd be no way to escape in time. She was at the complete mercy of the other siren. Sonata jumped when a low rumbling was heard coming from Aria's throat, and her heartbeat quickened when the purple siren leaned toward her, jaws wide open, big enough to fit the pony fully inside. Sonata squeezed her eyes shut and prepared for the worst. But she gasped in surprise and shock when she felt the jaws wrap delicately around her torso, and felt herself get lifted into the air. She craned her neck, trying to see Aria's face, but she couldn't. So she just did the only thing she could, and hung limply in Aria's jaws and awaited what fate she would be served. But she was surprised when she was taken outside and laid gently in the grass and left there, the purple siren heading back into the shelter of the barn. Sonata looked after her curiously, wondering what just happened. She trotted over to the barn and looked inside, seeing Aria curled up, this time facing the door. The purple siren lifted her head and growled, but it sounded halfhearted.

"Go, before I change my mind." Sonata took a step back.

"Aria-"

"I said go!" Sonata whimpered and lowered her head, but didn't leave. Aria just rolled her eyes. "Whatever..." She grumbled, plopping her head back down and closing her eyes. Sonata took a few slow steps into the old barn, her eyes focused on the other siren.

"Aria, please talk to me..." She muttered. "And don't tell me to go away. Just _please_ talk to me." Aria opened her eyes slightly with a groan. She looked at Sonata, her pupils turning to slits.

"There's nothing to talk about. And why should I trust you, anyway? You obviously care more about Adagio than me, taking her side over mine and all." Sonata snorted and stamped her hoof against the ground angrily.

"Is _that_ what this is all about?!" She asked incredulously. "You did all this just because you're a little jealous?!" Aria immediately lifted her head and snarled at her.

"Of course not, you imbecile! That's just why I can't trust you to be there for me. So sorry if I'm a little skeptical when you say you can help me." She growled. Sonata shook her head.

"Aria, are you serious?! I'm not going to take your side _all_ the time! Just like you won't always take _my_ side! You can't be right _every single time_! And just because I took someone else's side doesn't mean I care more about them! It just means that I agree with them more! So just stop this power crap and go back to just being Aria! Back to...back to being with me..." Aria looked at Sonata for a moment, her expression unreadable. But then she growled and moved until her face was inches from Sonata's.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm overreacting." She growled. "But...I've never felt so great. So..._alive_. And that's something...that's something you never could've given me. Not if I stayed where I was..." She then paused, and looked down, as if contemplating something. Suddenly, she looked up at Sonata. "Unless...unless _you_ joined _me_." Sonata jerked her head back.

"What?!"

"We could share this power. We can be together like you want! We both get what we want!" Sonata paused, seeing truth in her words. But she saw the wrongness of it all.

"No, I can't. I won't. This is wrong and you know it!" Aria narrowed her eyes and huffed.

"Disagreeing with me again, I see. Guess I just can't do anything right!" She snarled, snapping at Sonata, who jumped out of the way just in time.

"Aria, control your temper before you do something you'll regret!" Aria growled, baring her teeth.

"The only thing I regret..._is meeting you and Adagio!_" She roared, lunging at Sonata again. Sonata dodged once more, but Aria had managed to snag her tail, ultimately ripping some of the hair out. "Rgh! Stop moving!" She growled.

"No! You stop acting like this!" Sonata countered. Aria snarled at her, a growl rising in her throat again. But then, suddenly, she stopped, and her ears perked. Sonata noticed this and tilted her head to the side curiously. Aria was staring out into the distance, her attention seemingly focused on something. "A-aria...?"

"_Shut up!_" The purple siren seethed at her, obviously trying to hear something that Sonata could not. The blue pony perked her ears and rotated them, surveying her surroundings. Still nothing. Maybe since Aria was in siren form, her hearing was better. "What the-" She heard Aria say. She looked at the purple siren curiously. Then, suddenly, she heard a screech come from above, causing her to jump. She looked up and saw something unexpected. There, flying somewhat clumsily, was a black, winged creature, and it was diving straight at them. Forgetting their previous rivalry, Sonata instinctively ran behind Aria for protection.

With a loud thud, the creature landed in front of them, dust flying into the air. When the air cleared, before them stood quite an unexpected sight indeed. It was a dragon. A dark grey, nearly black dragon, that was about half the size of a siren. What was strange was that it had normal front dragon claws, but its hind legs were...paws? What a strange-looking dragon. But, however strange, it was beautiful to look at. It was a dark, smokey gray with small fringes going down its back. It had a slim, delicate, feminine figure, and had beautiful yellow eyes. It also had two fangs poking from the front of its mouth, protruding past the lips.

It glared at the two, its lips slightly pulled back it a light snarl. Aria growled at it, snapping at the air as a sign of aggression. But the creature did not budge. Sonata would've gone into siren form and helped Aria fend it off, but she couldn't take her eyes off of it. Something about it seemed just so...familiar. Why? She didn't often engage with dragons. But something about this dragon caught her attention for whatever reason. Aria turned her head and saw Sonata cowering behind her. She growled.

"Get away from me!" She whipped Sonata with her tail, causing the little pony to tumble forward, falling hard in the dirt. The dragon snarled and made a few advancing steps towards Aria. The purple siren froze and glared at the dragon. "You back off!" She warned. Sonata shakily stood up, her wound from earlier now open again. She whimpered as it began bleeding again, and she let herself fall back to the ground, ceasing her efforts. Seeing this, the dragon snarled, thinking Aria was the one who gave her the injury, and finally lunged at the purple siren. With a surprised yelp, Aria fell backwards as the dragon barreled into her. It pinned her down and began snapping at her throat, but Aria held it away with her forelegs. Sonata saw this and tried to stand up again, despite the pain, and succeeded. She looked anxiously at the two tussling on the ground.

"Stop it! Stop fighting!" The dragon only ignored her and continued its assault on Aria. The purple siren took matters into her own hooves, though, and whacked the dragon's side with her massive tail, sending it sprawling to the side. Aria quickly flew up into the air, trying to get some distance from it, but it quickly jumped up again and lunged at her once more. But it wasn't going for her throat this time. It flew up into the air, and began attempting to slash at Aria's chest, right where the gem was embedded. Aria kept dodging out of the way, though, so it was never able to hit its unusual mark. But, finally, Aria's luck ran out when she tried to act on the offensive, and snap at the dragon. She missed, but she was now in close proximity to the beast, allowing it access to her gemstone. With a roar, it slashed at her, leaving three gaping marks on her chest, and scratches on the gem. Sonata stiffened. _No! _She took a step forward. "Hey, stop it! Leave her alone!" The dragon then took notice of Sonata yelling at it, and turned its head to look at her. Finding an opening, Aria flew into the air and darted off, retreating from the scene, defeated for now. Noticing that she was now alone with the beast that gave Aria a beating, she gulped and stepped back, ears lowered.

The dragon's expression, however, was different when it looked at her. It was soft and kind, almost like how a mother would look at her child. A rumbling sound began emanating from the creature's throat, but it wasn't growling. It sounded more like...a sad excuse for a purr. Sonata jumped when it began moving towards her, and she backed up a bit more. The dragon moved until it was right in front of her, and it leaned its head down to get eye-level with her. Sonata looked the creature in the eyes, and she gasped. She knew why this dragon seemed so familiar. She looked intently at its fierce, golden eyes and smiled a bit.

"Sweet Celestia...oh, I missed you..."

* * *

**Some of you know, but those who don't, who do you think the dragon is? Or did we ever meet it in the first place? Could it be a new character from Sonata's past, or no? Find out in the next chapter :D**


	26. Steven!

**Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been super busy. Just got a job and stuff, sooooo...yeah.**

* * *

Sonata reared up and whinnied with joy. The dragon let out a couple happy chirps and flapped her wings excitedly, seeing that Sonata recognized her.

"Oh, I missed you, I missed you, I missed you!" Sonata yelped, hopping in circles. "How did you find your way here?!" The dragon chuffed in lack of understanding of what she was saying, but her expression still remained joyful in seeing her friend again. Sonata then stopped and looked at the creature. "Oh...oh, no...how am I gonna explain this to human Applejack? Or Adagio?! You're not supposed to be here! This isn't your world! You need to go back, Steven!" The dragon let out a sad groan and lowered her head, wondering why she was getting yelled at. Sonata's gaze softened and she sighed. "Oh, I'm sorry, sweetie..." She muttered, going up on her hind legs and putting her forehead to Steven's. "I'm not mad. You're just not supposed to be here. We'll both get in trouble!" The dragon's long tail swayed quickly, as she couldn't exactly wag such a tail. She nuzzled Sonata pleadingly, who laughed and nuzzled the dragon back. With a final giggle, she sighed. "Okay, I guess you can...stay for a while longer. I did miss you a whole bunch, you little troublemaker!" She then paused and looked up at the creature. "...or..._big _troublemaker?" The dragon chirped happily at her. Steven then noticed Sonata's injury again, and her ears drooped. She leaned her head over to examine the wound. "Huh?" Sonata wondered, watching. The dragon then drew out her long tongue and gently slid it over the gash. Sonata blinked in confusion, but gasped in surprise when Steven pulled away, and the gash began to close up. It didn't heal fully, but all that was left was a faded scar and some missing fur. She looked at the dragon in wonder. "H-how'd you do that? How'd you _know_ you could do that?!" Steven gave her a sheepish look. "Wow...that's really amazing! Hmm..." She then gasped. "Steven, come with me! I know someone who could use your help!" She said. The dragon looked at her in mild understanding. Sonata rolled her eyes with a giggle and morphed her body, turning into siren form. She looked back at Steven, who was looking at her in shock and confusion at the transformation. "Just come on." She said, beginning to take off. Steven, now understanding that she was to follow, began beating her powerful wings, lifting her off the ground as well. Sonata smiled and began flying, the small dragon following close behind.

~o~

"What the hell is that _thing_ doing here?!" Steven lowered her head as the golden siren stood in a defensive position, despite the pain, and glared at her. "No dragons on siren territory!" She spat. Sonata flew in between the two and looked at her leader pleadingly.

"Dagi, this isn't just _any_ dragon! Don't attack!" Adagio whipped her long tail angrily.

"Well, it sure looks like a dragon to me!" She snarled. Sonata shook her head rapidly.

"No, no, no, that's not what I mean! Adagio, this is Steven! She went through the portal and turned into a dragon! At least...I _think_ that's what happened." She said with a shrug. Adagio immediately lost her defensive posture and looked at the dragon in disbelief.

"Th-that...that's your damn mutt?!" She asked, then winced when she felt the pain in her neck spike from the yelling. She groaned and rested herself back down. From where she lay, though, she glared at the two. "Sonata Dusk, you'd better have a great fucking excuse for bringing her here." She growled. "Why didn't you send her back?!" Sonata finally glared back at Adagio and growled, her previous anger towards her returning.

"Well, if you would let me explain myself before you open your big, obnoxious mouth, then you would know that I would've sent her back, but she fixed a wound I had by licking it, and I was thinking that she could make you better too!" She yelled. "I only wanted to help, Dagi, but it's hard to when you don't just trust that I know what I'm doing!" Adagio lifted her head slowly and blinked in surprise as she stared at Sonata. Her expression softened immediately, and she looked down and sighed.

"Sonata, I'm...I'm sorry. I just...I'm under a lot of stress, and...and I can see that you are too. So...why don't we both just calm down and take a breather..." Sonata closed her eyes and sighed as well, releasing her tension and built up stress.

"Fine..." She muttered. "...but only if you let Steven stay so that she can help you." Adagio looked skeptically over at the patiently waiting dragon and exhaled.

"Fine." With a small smile and a nod, Sonata looked at Steven and pointed with a hoof at the wounds dotting the golden siren's neck. Steven let out a curt, rumbling purr in understanding and walked up to Adagio.

As soon as the dragons tongue touched Adagio's scales, she quivered in disgust and squeezed her eyes shut.

"I'm gonna get you for this, Dusk..." She muttered, watching the dragon out of the corner of her eye. Sonata rolled her eyes.

"Just stop complaining and accept the help, would ya?" Adagio huffed and stared out into the distance. After a few minutes, Steven was done 'slobbering', as Adagio had put it, all over the golden siren's neck, and the end result was similar to Sonata's, where all that was left was a faded remnant of what was once there. Adagio shook her head rapidly, testing it out, and felt surprised when she found that any pain was near nonexistent.

"Huh." She said in amusement. Sonata looked at her.

"Well...?" She urged. Adagio sighed.

"Well, I...uh...I guess I owe you an apology, Sonata. I really...appreciate this. Even if I am a little pissed that your canine-dragon thing is here, I'd still be here, unable to move on this rock while you're out there all alone looking for little miss power-hungry if she hadn't." Sonata nodded in agreement and approval. She then giggled when Steven suddenly came over and slid her tongue over Adagio's cheek as an acceptance of her apology, much to the siren's chagrin. Adagio growled in annoyance, but couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "Okay, that's enough, you crazy canine...dragon...thing."

~o~

Steven was sitting at the edge of the rocks, looking out at the calm waves. She sat up straight, and almost looked like a guard or sentry of sorts. On the other side of the rocks, however, the two sirens were in conversation with each other.

"So...did you find her?" Sonata looked down.

"Yes..."

"How is she?"

"Not...not well..."

"What happened...?"

"W-well...I found out something. You know the gem that made her this way? The one that corrupted her?" Adagio nodded slowly. "Well...I learned that it's actually _attached_ to her." Adagio jerked her head back in shock.

"_What_?! But how can another gem attach to a siren?!"

"That's exactly what _I_ said!"

"That...that's just..._impossible_! There must be some dark magics at work, here..." She growled. Sonata nodded in solemn agreement.

"But...there's something else..." Adagio looked at Sonata curiously.

"What is it?"

"Well...you see...I had tried to take the stone away from her while she was sleeping, but...she woke up. And, where I was, I had nowhere to go. My fate was fully in her hooves. But you know what she did? She picked me up gently and brought me to safety. And this lead me to believe...that the old Aria is still in there somewhere. We just need to reach her. We need to show her how much we care." Adagio's eyes widened.

"Whoa. I wouldn't have expected her to be so...merciful, since, you know, we've been trying to stop her path to world domination and all."

"Exactly. Why would she be so merciful unless _our_ Aria was still in there?" Adagio nodded.

"I agree. I just hope we can reach her in time before the madness takes her over..." Adagio then closed her eyes. "...because I remember being that power-hungry once. And it always takes over in the end. Always..." She then opened her eyes and looked at Sonata, a small smile finding its way onto her face. "That's why its good to have great friends to pull you off your pedestal and back down to earth." Sonata smiled widely and nodded. Then, her smile disappeared, and a look of urgency crossed her expression.

"But we don't have a whole lot of time."

"What do you mean?" Adagio asked in slight confusion. Sonata lowered her ears and looked down.

"W-well...while I was looking for Aria...I got confronted by...Princess Celestia..." This caused Adagio to reel her head back with a snort.

"Princess _Celestia_?!" Sonata nodded.

"A-and she told me...that I have three days to get Aria sorted out, or...she'll..." Sonata sniffled a bit. "O-or...she'll..._she'll banish her_!" Sonata screeched, letting her head fall to the rocks as she began sobbing, now feeling defeated as she faced the reality of the situation, and how unrealistic a goal it was. How was she going to get Aria back to normal in only three days?! That's not near enough time! But she _couldn't_ get banished! Sonata couldn't even _imagine_ a life without her beloved Aria. Adagio looked at Sonata with pity, and she leaned her head down, nuzzling the sobbing siren's cheek.

"Sonata...sweetheart...it'll be alright..." She said softly, even if she didn't know if that was exactly true. Sonata buried her face in Adagio's neck.

"N-no, it's not! There's no way we'll be able to do it in_three days_! She's going to get b-banished or worse, and there's nothing we can do about it! I c-can't imagine life without her! I love her s-so much! And if she gets taken away from m-me, then I swear, I'll k-kill myself!" She sobbed. "I'll _kill_ myself!" Adagio flinched at the last of her words, and could feel tears of her own welling up at seeing the amount of pain that this whole situation was causing her friend. But she blinked them back. No. She wouldn't cry. She needed to be strong for Sonata right now. She drew Sonata closer to her and held her close, trying to comfort her as much as possible.

"Sonata, don't...please don't say such things..." She whispered, her voice sounding slightly shaky. "I promise...I promise you that I will do _everything_ in my power to help get her back. And I swear on my siren blood that I won't let her get banished. I promise...she'll come back to us..." Sonata sniffled and nuzzled Adagio.

"Th-thank you, Dagi..." She whimpered, sounding somewhat happier. "But...h-how will we do it in time?" Adagio cuddled Sonata and licked the tears off her face.

"I don't exactly know, sweetheart, but I can just _feel_ it. I have a feeling that things will turn out alright. We just...need to have faith...and each others' backs. So no more fighting, alright? That goes for me, too." Sonata nodded, wiping the remainder of the tears from her own face.

"Y-yeah, okay..." She muttered, feeling her eyelids start to droop in the comfort of the golden siren's embrace

"Atta girl..." Adagio cooed, wrapping her tail around Sonata in both comfort and protection. "'Atta girl.."


	27. Memoirs of a Siren

**Say hello to the longest chapter by far in the series. Took me four days to write 'cause I kept hitting writer's blocks, but here it is now. This whole chapter is an emotional drama-bomb.**

* * *

Sonata opened her eyes slowly, and her large jaws separated in a massive yawn. As her interpretation of the world became clearer as her mind started coming to full conscience, she noticed the comfort of where she was lying. She looked down and saw a golden body wrapped around her. She looked to her left and saw the head of the creature. It was Adagio, who was sleeping peacefully while wrapped protectively around the blue siren. Sonata smiled. it made her feel safe and secure. This is so because, when they were but little seaponies, Adagio would always do the same thing. Comfortingly wrap around her when she was scared or troubled. _Guess it was just her instinct. _Sonata blinked a couple times, ridding herself of the last of the sleep, before coming to full terms with everything. She began recollecting what had happened previous to being here, and her eyes widened before she gasped loudly. This sudden sound caused Adagio's head to shoot up, and she began looking blindly around until her eyes came out of their sleepy haze and into focus. She looked at the blue siren.

"S-sonata?" She said sleepily, her words slurring a bit. "What...what's wrong, sweetheart?" Sonata looked at Adagio in horror.

"Dagi, we fell asleep!" She yelped.

"So...?" She asked, becoming more awake.

"Dagi! Don't you remember?! We only have three days, but now we only have two! What are we gonna do?!" Adagio finally came to full consciousness and looked squarely at the panicked siren.

"Sonata, calm down. It's only early morning. We have all day today and tomorrow to get her."

"Okay, then let's go now!" Sonata urged. Adagio sighed. Sleep was calling her back, and she wanted to sleep longer. But...she had made Sonata a promise.

"Ugh...okay, fine."

~o~

Sonata led Adagio to where she last saw Aria, making sure to keep out of the sight of the citizens. They landed in front of the broken-down barn, and Sonata looked around sadly.

"This is where I found her, and where Steven came along, too. She attacked Aria." Adagio looked at the dragon.

"And...uh...how much damage did she do?" She asked. Sonata whimpered.

"Well...that's why I'm kinda worried..." She looked at Adagio. "You see, when Steven attacked her, she left three big gashes on her chest, and she even scratched up the gem a bit." Adagio winced.

"Ouch. You think she'll be okay?"

"I...I really don't know. But after the attack, she flew away. She could be anywhere by now!" Sonata then squeezed her eyes shut. "Rgh, everything is just so _fucked_!" She growled in frustration. Adagio blinked in surprise. Sonata was never really one to curse. She only did that when she was on the brink on _some_ emotion. The golden siren sighed.

"It'll be fine, Sonata. We'll find her. I'm sure she didn't go far if she was injured that badly. And she probably stopped to rest somehere because of it. So, come on! Don't give up just yet!" Sonata looked at Adagio and smirked a bit.

"Hey, stop it. I'm supposed to be the optimistic one." She muttered. Adagio chuckled.

"Then come on! Be optimistic! Be the old Sonata! Would Sonata Dusk ever let something get in her way?"

"I...uh...no...?" Sonata muttered.

"I can't hear you!"

"No." She said.

"Louder!"

"No!" She yelled, feeling herslf suddenly pump up with excitement.

"Are we going to let anything come between us?"

"No!"

"Are we going to find Aria and not give up until she's safe with us once more?!"

"_Yes_!"

"We'll do it for Aria!"

"For Aria!"

"Okay, feeling better?" Adagio asked, her voice returning to normal volume.

"Yes!" Sonata yelled, still caught in the pep talk. Adagio raised an eyebrow.

"Sonata...you can stop yelling now." Sonata paused and looked at her leader sheepishly.

"Oh...heheh...right."

"Okay, now..." She began, about to say something she thought she'd never say. "...let's go snag ourselves a raging purple seahorse."

~o~O~o~

Aria didn't go very far. East of Manehattan, which was nothing but vast ocean until the next mainland, the purple siren was lying on a random bunch of rocks jutting from the waves, recuperating after her run-in with the dragon. The only reason she was doing this in the middle of the ocean was because it was far from where anyone would be able to find/bother her while she healed. Siren's had a rather fast healing rate when compared to most other creatures, but it would still take time. Especially for gashes as deep as the ones on her chest. It would take about two and a half days. Maybe more. 'Til then, she would have to keep herself out of harm's way. How boring.

She lied her head wearily on the rocks, thinking of what she could do. There wasn't much she _could_ do without getting noticed. Suddenly, a familiar voice popped into her head. _Good going. Nice job. You were beaten by a creature a bit more than half your size. Way to go. _Aria growled at the voice.

"Shut up! Leave me be!" She snarled, then winced as the pain in her chest wounds spiked. The voice cackled. _Still easy to anger, I see. Well, that won't be for long. As I've stated before, I'm the future you. You will become me. And I'm _never _serious or angry. You'll be more fun to talk to then. __"Yeah, right." Aria huffed. "Like I'd ever become like that." _The voice scoffed. _You've already begun the transformation, dear. Just look at yourself. _Aria rolled her eyes and glared at the water. And what she saw made her gasp. There, looking back at her, was nearly a spitting image of the creature she'd met in her dreams that claimed to be her. Her pupils were constricted, her fangs were jagged, and she looked somewhat frazzled. The only real difference she had from the 'Other Aria' was that deranged grin. She shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut, backing away from the water. She heard the voice chuckle._ What'd I tell you? You're nearly there. _Aria snarled. "No! I will not become you! I choose my own path! Niova told me so! So did you!" The dark chuckle was heard again, which quickly became psychotic laugher. Aria started getting frustrated with the invisible entity. "What?! What's so funny?!" Gradually, the laughter died down, and the voice spoke. _Oh, nothing. It's just...I'm amazed by how easily you actually trust others. Someone with your wit and personality, I'd expect you to do the complete opposite. You must've been really_ desperate. _Such a shame. _Aria slammed her hoof against the rocks in anger. "And what the hell do you mean by that?!" The voice was silent. "Answer me!" When everything still remained quiet, and she was devoid of an answer, she huffed and let her head fall back onto the rocks. Her gaze softened as she looked up to the sky, and she exhaled lightly. "Wow...I was just having an argument with myslef..." She muttered, shaking her head slightly. "Maybe I really _am _going insane..."

~o~

Hours passed, and the sun had risen to it's full peak in the sky. It bore down on the purple siren, and she groaned in annoyance. WIth a sigh and a flick of her tail, she slid herself into the water. As she did so, the rocks rubbed against her wound, causing her to wince in pain, but she tried her best to ignore it. Once she was settled in the water, she looked up.

"Eh, I was getting bored up there anyway..." She grumbled as she began swimming uninterestedly in a random direction. As she swam, her eyebrows remained furrowed as her mind kept wandering back to the events with Sonata. Her stubborness and repeated telling her to 'come back' to her really got on her nerves. She needed some space, and that's exactly what she was getting. And the longer she swam, the calmer she felt, despite the spontaneous little spurts of pain she'd feel in her chest every now in then.

~o~

She didn't know how long she swam for. It had just become a mindless task by now. She felt tired from the days events, and she needed to find a place where she wouldn't be bothered so that she could rest her battle-worn body. Eventually, she came to an area that...gave her a strange feeling. She looked around. It gave her a sense of deja vu, and some mild nostalgia. This confused her. She didn't know why this place seemed so familiar. She kept swimming until she came to a large underwater cave. She blinked, and her eyes widened.

This place...this cave...after all these years...

Aria's breath caught in her throat as she slowly swam towards the cave entrance. She swam inside and looked around. Her eyes landed on a corner of the cave, where a pile of beautiful seashells rested...

* * *

_"What's the point? We see seashells all the time. I mean, we live in the freaking ocean, if you hadn't noticed." A little, golden sea ceature rolled her eyes._

_"Yes, Aria, but I only collect the really pretty ones." She said, bringing one of her many seashells up to her face and admiring it. Aria raised an eyebrow._

_"But that's just dumb, Adagio. A seashell is a seashell. No matter how pretty it is, it's still a seashell." The small, purple one tried to reason. Adagio pouted._

_"Would you stop trying to ruin this for me? You have your hobbies, and I have mine." Aria rolled her eyes._

_"Yeah. Mine are just cooler." She bragged. Adagio glared at her friend._

_"You're asking for it, Blaze. I may be smaller than you, but I know how to fight!" She growled, a playful grin on her face. Aria got into a defensive stance and growled back._

_"Bring it, shortstuff." With a tiny roar, little Adagio lunged at the slightly bigger Aria, managing to get her off balance. Aria countered by biting at Adagio's neck. Not enough to do any real damage, but just enough to show her that she meant business. Adagio screeched and wriggled in Aria's grip. Aria was about to celebrate her quick victory when, all of a sudden, Adagio whipped her small tail against Aria's face, causing her to release the smaller siren._

_"Ha!" Adagio taunted. "Can't hold_ me _down!_" Aria grinned, a competitive look on her face.

_"Wanna bet?" She asked, her small tail whipping about. Adagio's expression also turned competitive._

_"Oh, yeah!" She said, getting into a defensive position as well. Given the go-ahead, Aria wasted no time in diving at the golden siren, who tried to dodge out of the way, but was too slow. She pinned the smaller siren down with a cocky grin._

_"Gotcha!" She laughed. Adagio giggled and tried wiggling out from under her._

_"Ah! No!" She yelped. "Don't do it!" Aria chuckled, her competitive look gone, and replaced with a playful one. She smiled and began nipping at the smaller siren all over. Adagio sputtered and began laughing._

_"Aria, no! I-ahahahahaHA!-stop! That-haha!-that t-tickles! Ahahahaha!" Adagio tried her best to wriggle away, but under the mass of the bigger siren, she was helpless. All she could do was pray for the torment to end. "P-lease, Ariahahahahaha! S-stop it!" She yelped. Aria began nipping at Adagio's neck, which was her weak spot when it came to tickling. At that, Adagio completely lost it, and she was laughing to the point where she couldn't breathe. Then, the little golden siren began coughing and choking from lack of air. Aria immediately stopped and climbed off of her, watching her. When Adagio's coughing fit was over, Aria offered her a smile._

_"You alright, now?" She asked kindly, as if they'd never been fighting. Adagio inhaled deeply before nodding. The thing about Adagio was that she was the smallest of the three sirens, as she hadn't exactly hit her growth spurt yet. And, to top it off, she'd been made somewhat frail, and had minor breathing problems, all of it due to her slow development. Aria sighed in relief and nuzzled Adagio's cheek with a chuckle. "Good. You had me scared there." Adagio gasped in fake exasperation._

_"Oh my gosh, Aria Blaze was actually worried about someone other than herself? Shocker." She said mockingly while sporting a playful grin. Aria elbowed her._

_"Shut up. You know I care about you guys. I'm just...not that great at showing it." She chuckled. Adagio lied herelf down over Aria's forelegs and looked up at her._

_"Yeah, I know." She giggled, leaning up and licking Aria's chin. "I know under that hard shell is a sweet caring soul." Aria rolled her eyes._

_"Yeah, whatever." She grumbled with a smirk._

* * *

Aria swam up to the pile of seashells and stopped in front of them. She reached out a hoof and caressed one of them. She closed her eyes and sighed before deciding to move on. But she didn't get far before something else caught her eye. She looked to her right when something glinted in the dim cave. It glimmered, and Aria swam towards it. There appeared to be something buried in the sand. With her muzzle, she nosed aside the sand until what was underneath came into full view. It was two golden necklaces with heart-shaped pendants. Aria gasped as heart began thudding in her chest, and she had to look away from the two ornate pieces of jewelry.

* * *

_A pre-adolescent Aria quickly swam into the cave. Dangling from her mouth were two shiny, golden things. She looked around until she saw a little blue siren rolling around in the sand out of boredom. Aria smiled and swam over to her. _

_"Hey, Sonata!" Aria called, getting the blue siren's attention. Sonata stopped rolling and sat straight up, looking at the purple siren._

_"Oh, hey, Ari. Whatcha got there?" She asked, noticing the glimmering thing in Aria's jaws. This caused Aria to smile wider, and she took one of the things and put it around her own neck. Sonata then realized that they were necklaces. Aria then took the other one and held it out for Sonata to see. It was a beautiful golden necklace with a heart-shaped pendant. She looked at the one around Aria's neck and realized it was exactly the same. Sonata looked at it questioningly before looking at Aria. "What's that for?" She asked. Aria rolled her eyes with a giggle._

_"It's for you, silly!" Sonata's eyes widened as she looked back to the necklace. She smiled a bit._

_"Where'd you get it?" She asked. Aria shrugged._

_"Eh, I found them in a box I found on a sunken ship." Aria then looked at Sonata and smiled, slipping the piece of jewelry around her neck. "I thought it would be perfect for you and me to have something to signify our bond. So, why not have matching necklaces?" Sonata smiled, then suddenly frowned a bit._

_"But...what about Adagio? Did you get one for her, too?" She asked. Aria chuckled and shook her head._

_"Silly siren. Of course not. She doesn't have what_ we_ have." Aria put a hoof to Sonata's pendant. "And as long as you wear this, you'll always be my best and closest friend. And nothing will ever change that." Aria said, sincerity dripping from her voice. Sonata smiled wide and threw her forelegs around Aria's neck._

_"Oh, thank you, Ari! I love it! You're the best friend a siren could have! And we'll be best friends forever, right?!" She asked. Aria smiled and closed her eyes, hugging her friend back._

_"I promise. Nothing will tear us apart..." She whispered into Sonata's ear, holding her close._

* * *

Aria's eyes began to water. _We were so close then..._ She closed her eyes and sighed. She stayed still for a bit. She then remembered why she came here, and she let that push the memories out of her head. She looked to the deeper part of the cave and yawned. She needed rest. She swam through the rather deep cave until she came to the very back. She lied herself down with a heavy sigh, but before she lay down to sleep, she noticed something on the cave wall. She couldn't see in that well in the dim light of the cave, and curiosity got the better of her. With a groan, she got up and lethargically propelled herself to the cave wall. She leaned close to it and squinted her eyes to try and see what the hell it was. Immediately, her eyes widened. There were several little things that looked like drawing on the cave wall. She just couldn't get a break.

* * *

_Young Aria swam into the cave boredly. She looked around lazily until she saw a rather strange sight. Sonata was doing something strange with the wall, and was humming a little tune to herself. Eyebrow raised, Aria swam over to her curiously. She stopped behind Sonata so that she could get a better view of what she was doing. She had a strangely-shaped rock in her mouth, and she was moving it around on the cave wall, creating lines and shapes._

_"Sonata...what in Tartarus' name are you doing?" Sonata stopped humming and looked at Aria in surprise._

_"Oh, hey, Ari." She said, though it was a bit hard to understand with a rock in her mouth. Sonata looked back to the cave wall. "And, to answer your question, I'm drawing." She stated simply before going back to the activity. Aria blinked and looked at the other drawings she'd made previously. One showed three small sea creatures playing together, presumably the three sirens. Aria smiled a bit._

_"Hey, guys, what're you up to?" A voice suddenly said. The two turned around and saw the little golden siren looking at them curiously. If you couldn't tell, sirens were very curious creatures. Kinda like cats. Sonata smiled._

_"Oh, hey, Dagi! I'm making drawings!" She said, turning around to continue the one she was on._

_"Oh, cool!" She said, swimming up to get a closer look. As Aria and Adagio were examining the other drawings, Sonata backed away from the wall._

_"Done!" She yelped happily. The other two sirens turned their heads to view her latest creation. But it wasn't that exciting. It was the outline of one of Sonata's hooves. Aria raised an eyebrow._

_"It took you that long just to do that?" Sonata pouted._

_"Hey, it's hard to draw around your hoof using just your mouth! That's why unicorns are so lucky." Aria rolled her eyes. Adagio, however, was fascinated by the simple outline. She put one of her hooves out._

_"Sonata, can you do mine, too?" She asked eagerly. Sonata smiled brightly._

_"Sure, Dagi!" She said. "Just hold your hoof against the wall." Adagio did so, and in less time than it took for Sonata's, the blue siren was done. "Wow, it's much easier to do someone else's!" She said. Sonata then looked at Aria. "Hey, Ari, how 'bout you?" She asked. Aria shook her head._

_"Oh, come on, Aria." Adagio pleaded. "If we get all our hooves up there, then when we're older, we can look back and remember how close we were. That way, we'll never part!" Aria rolled her eyes at Adagio's dumb logic and sighed._

_"If I do this, will you leave me alone?" She asked. Adagio and Sonata both nodded rapidly. Aria sighed again. "Fine." She said, putting a hoof to the wall next to the other two. In less than a minute, Aria's hoof outline was among the other two, and the three sirens looked at them. Adagio swam up to them and placed her hoof over them with a smile._

_"Sirens stick together no matter what. Forever." Sonata swam up and placed her hoof next to Adagio's._

_"No matter what. Forever." She repeated, smiling brightly. The two then looked at Aria expectantly. The purple siren rolled her eyes, but she knew they were right. All the three of them had were each other, and nothing would change their kinship or their bond. Not even the end of time. Aria sighed and slowly swam up to the wall. She placed her hoof next to Adagio's where her own hoof outline was, and smiled a bit._

_"Sirens stick together. No matter what. Forever." She said._

* * *

"Together...no matter what...forever..." Aria whispered, placing her hoof over the three tiny outlines. She looked at the size difference. Her hoof was now about five times the size of the outline. Aria huffed. "We've been together since we were that little?" She asked to no one in particular. "Wow...I never even remembered my childhood. It was so many hundreds of years ago..." She squeezed her eyes shut and placed her forehead against the cool stone wall, all of the memories flooding into her head at once, filling her heart with emotion after emotion. She gritted her teeth, and she felt tears start coming out, though they weren't noticeable in the water. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter, and she began to sob. "My god, what've I done?!" She cried. "Sonata, I'm so sorry!" She pulled her hoof from the wall and let herself sink to the sandy floor of the cave. When she landed, she huddled herself in a ball and continued sobbing. Right then and there, Aria wanted to disappear from the world, never to be seen again. How could she face anyone _now_...?

Eventually, the poor siren cried herself to sleep, and her head was invaded with dreams. Dreams of her past. Dreams of the three of them together, when it seemed like nothing bad could ever happened. When they were young and innocent. Nothing but three friends together in a lonely world, where no one accepted them but each other. But, honestly...that was all they ever needed.

She just needed to realize that.

* * *

**I really hate how this chapter came out... :/ Oh, well. Hopefully, you guys liked it more than me.**


	28. Deceit

**Viewer discretion is advised for younger audiences. Naw jk, but it does get a little...ehhh...**

* * *

When Aria awoke, she opened her eyes slowly, and notice how bleary her vision was from how much crying she'd done. She squeezed her eyes shut, embarrassed. She hadn't cried like that since she was a little siren. She sighed and opened them again, her gaze coming into focus. The moments before her sleep came back to her, and she felt a lump in her throat. _Sonata... _How would she be able to face her sirenkin again after what she'd done? Granted, she hadn't really caused much havoc, as compared to the old days, but she'd still done some damage. But the thing she'd done the most damage to wasn't causing ponies to turn on each other. It was her relationship with Sonata. She looked down. How could she have been so blind? So selfish? So...forgetful? Once again, she was reminded of the pain that comes with the powerlust. One is supposed to learn from their mistakes, and what did she do? Did the same exact thing again. But what had blinded her so greatly? Was she truly that desperate?

Aria looked down at her chest and brought a hoof up to it, caressing the stone. _But...if I see the error of my ways...then why does it feel so hard to let go? Why do I want to go back and live happily with the others...but also continue with..._this_? _Aria sighed, her head beginning to ache with the indecision. What should she do? She obviously can't have both. She'd already tried with Sonata. So, it was down to...which meant most to her. Her siren kinship...or the immeasurable power...

Aria growled, her teeth grinding. She could never recall a time where she was so at war with herself. Perhaps a bit of a swim would clear her mind. She swam a few feet to the mouth of the cave, but before she exited, she looked back. She hesitated before quickly swimming over to the gold necklaces and retrieving them from the sand. She hastily slipped them on before finally leaving the cave. Little did she know that she had company.

~o~O~o~

The dolphins nickered at each other quietly from the outside of the cave. They were angry and anxious. They could see that Aria was beginning to stray from the grip of the corruption, and they were not happy. This would _completely _ruin their queen's plan! Obviously, persuasion wouldn't work now. It was time to do it the changeling way, astray from their leader's rules. Maybe, when they succeed, they will be congratulated, or even promoted! So, yes, Chrysalis' 'persuasion' technique will have to be put to the side. Now...now was the time to use force. But, first, they would have a little fun.

~o~

As Aria swam, she exhaled deeply, lost in thought. Everything was quiet and still until she felt a great change in the water currents. Her eyes widened, and she looked around, but she didn't have to look far as something zoomed past her, then something else on her other side. Her pulse sped up as she looked around wildly. Then, suddenly, when she turned, she saw something she hoped she'd never see again. Two familiar-looking dolphins with glowing, green eyes. Aria snarled and backed up. She'd easily be able to take both of them on at once, with her being so much bigger than them. But what happened next surprised her. They spoke.

"Well, hello there, Aria." A male voice said.

"How very nice to see you." The female said silkily, beginning to slowly move around her. Aria watched her warily.

"Wh-what do you want from me? Why are you here?!" She growled. The male snickered.

"Well...we just happened to notice that...you've been straying from your path a bit. We just came to correct you."

"Path?" She questioned, looking confused. "C-correct?"

"That's right..." She heard the female's voice right next to her ear, and she darted away from her. She looked at the two dolphins angrily.

"What are you talking about?!" Both porpoises began slowly swimming towards her.

"You see..." The male began. "...we just can't have you leave behind your path to glory. To...power. It would entirely ruin our plans."

"P-plans?" She asked, her voice shaking a bit. The female chuckled.

"Indeed. We can see that you want to go back to your...so-called 'friends.' But we can't have that." The female paused before her body began to morph, and Aria backed up with a gasp. For what now was before her...was herself. "What's the matter, Aria?" The purple siren's ears flattened against her head. She then felt a hoof on her shoulder. She looked over and saw that the male had become also become her. She pushed him off of her.

"_Get away from me_!" She screeched, what was once fear becoming bubbling anger. She looked at the two creatures, who were now shaped to look like her. "What...what..._are_ you?" The male licked his lips.

"Changelings." He said, and no sooner did he do so, did the two shape-shifters lunge at the purple siren.

~o~

Aria bellowed as she was assaulted, one snapping down on one of her forelegs, and the other trying to snap at her throat-not to kill her, but to subdue her-but Aria tried her best to fend it off. The one on her leg began shaking their head violently, tearing the skin. With a roar, Aria bit down on the back of its neck, doing the same violent head shaking, until he let go. He let out a screech of pain and backed away, but while Aria was distracted, the other came in and barreled into her. Her vision went blurry for a moment, but before she could bring it back into focus, the other had wrapped her jaws around her neck. Instinctively, Aria brought up her tail and whipped it in the face. It released her, giving her the upper hand. Now filled with rage, Aria lunged at it and pinned it to the seabed. She put her face inches from the 'changeling' and snarled. It looked at her for a moment before its purple skin began to change color, and Aria gasped when, in just a few seconds, a blue siren was underneath her. It was Sonata.

The changeling grinned. _Perfect! Hahaha! The simple trait of hesitation when seeing the one you love. I'd like to see her hurt me now. Lets take this up a notch. _'Sonata's' eyes became big and glossy, and she let out a soft whimper.

"Ari..." She said in a small, sweet voice. "...y-you wouldn't hurt me, would you?" Aria felt a knot in her chest. Of course this Sonata was fake, so why was she being so hesitant? _Come on, Aria! Snap out of it! _Aria shook her head and growled, looking back at 'Sonata.' She grinned a bit, her common sense kicking in for once, and she saw below her nothing more than a pathetic shape-shifter who hides behind faces. She growled.

"Nice trick...but you could've done better." And, with that, she mercilessly wrapped her jaws around the creature's throat and bit down hard, hearing the satisfactory cracking of bones as the spine snapped, killing her before she had a chance to react. Blood mixed with the water, creating a murky, red cloud. Aria then turned her attention to the male, who was back in his dolphin form. He let out a few fearful noises as Aria began swimming up to him, a look of anger in her eyes. This one tried a similar tactic, but he switched it up in desperate hope that it would work. In a panic, he transformed into Adagio, a hopeful look on his face. Aria stopped in front of him and sighed. "How disappointing." She said with a tsk. He gulped.

"Wh-what do you mean?" He asked. Aria chuckled.

"Well...it's just that...I don't think you could've picked an easier target!" The male gasped, but that breath was his last as Aria lunged at his throat, ending his life quickly. As she released his limp form, she looked down at him in pity. "How unfortunate, to be born such a creature." She stated. With a sigh, she swam up to the surface. _I've had enough of underwater for now... _She thought as she leapt from the waves and into the air. _Now...time to do what I should've done a long time ago..._

~o~

Aria had been flying for a while when the familiar cave came into view. She immediately accelerated and, in no time, was landed in front of the cave mouth. She morphed her body back to a pony and trotted inside. When she reached the main cave, the lights were already on, and the old pony stood in the center of the cave, behind the stone table. She looked up upon Aria's entrance.

"Ah, Aria, my dear." She greeted. "How goes the quest for _power_?" Aria walked up to her and sighed, putting a hoof to the stone around her neck.

"Well...you see...that's kinda why I came here. The thing is, Niova...I...I'm not really sure I want to do this anymore..." She said. The old pony jerked her head back in surprise.

"Whatever do you mean? Of course you want it!" Aria shook her head.

"No. I just...thank you for giving me this opportunity, but...I just...I can't do this anymore." She stated, a bit more firmly. The old pony was silent for a moment. She seemed to be in thought. Aria blinked in surprise, though, when she saw Niova's expression become suddenly not-so-friendly. She snapped her attention to Aria and cleared her throat.

"Very well. If that's how you want it." She said, her tone sounding serious and angry, with a hint of cockiness. "But, first, allow me to introduce myself." She growled as a sickeningly green glow engulfed her, and Aria watched in horror as the old pony began to grow and morph, the once normal-looking body now mangled and twisted. In seconds, what stood before her was something she'd never seen before. A very tall pony-like creature, with a twisted horn, holes in her legs, and hole-filled, bug-like wings. Aria took a step back as she remembered the green glow from the dolphins, and how they could change shape as well.

"Y-you're a ch-changeling!" She said, her voice shaking. The dark pony chuckled darkly as she strutted in front of Aria.

"I am Queen Chrysalis, queen of the changelings." She said proudly. "And we are also masters of deceit."

"Wh-what does that have to do with anything?"

"That gem around your neck, for example." She began. "Did you actually think someone would just give you that much power without expecting something in return?" She purred.

"L-like what?" Aria asked. Chrysalis chuckled.

"Oh, nothing much." She then put a hoof to her own gem. Her horn began to glow, and in seconds, the stone began to do the same, and Aria looked down to find hers glowing as well. "I was hoping you'd collect more negative energy before crawling back here, but I suppose you have enough to suffice." Aria was about to ask what she meant by all this, but before she could do anything, a beam of light blasted from Chrysalis' purple gem and fired right into Aria's blue one. Aria let out a shrill shriek of pain as her body felt like it was being torn from the inside. It felt like her insides were twisting, and she could feel her energy dropping drastically. After a bit, when the ordeal was over, the light connecting the two gems had faded, leaving Chrysalis' gem glowing brighter than before, and Aria's dull and faded. The purple pony collapsed on the floor, all energy she'd had completely wiped out. She let out a shaky breath as she attempted to stand, but it was no use. She shifted her eyes to look at the changeling queen.

"Wh-why...why would you do this...?" Aria asked weakly. Chrysalis scoffed.

"Because, my dear, now that I have your magic within this stone, I can use it!" She then chuckled. "Then I'd be able to feed my beloved subjects! After all, negativity is _so_ much easier to obtain than _love_. Have you _seen _the kind of disharmony us changelings can sow?" Aria's eyes widened, anger filling her.

"Oh yeah...? Well...I think two of your _beloved subjects _are sleeping with the fishes..." She said weakly, but with the cockiest of grins. Chrysalis' head then snapped to Aria, and she growled.

"What do you mean by that?" She then blinked and gasped. "They...they haven't returned yet...they should've returned a while ago!" She snarled and got in Aria's face. "What did you do to them?!" Aria, seeing as she had the upper hand, chuckled, and lifted her head shakily from the ground.

"I ripped out their throats before they had a chance to scream..." She said. A look of fear crossed Chrysalis's face, and she backed up.

"D-damn you..._Damn_ you!" She growled. "Very well! Then let's see how you fare against my _army_!" She then looked to one of the tunnels. "_Changelings_! _To me_!" She called. Aria suddenly heard massive amounts of buzzing coming from the direction Chrysalis was looking. She felt fear fill her, and she gasped. Fighting just two had been a bit of a struggle. But a whole _army_ of them? No way. She had to bail. Filled with sudden adrenaline, Aria managed to somewhat stand up and, with the last of her energy, morphed into a siren. Not having time to exit through the normal way, she unceremoniously shot straight up into the air, and smashed into the cave roof. It cracked at first, but when she backed up and did it again, she went straight through, but the impact had left her dizzy, and she almost fell out of the air. However, she kept flying, desperate to get away and back to her friends. Her family. By now, she'd just about give anything to be back with them, living normally.

Behind her, she could hear the buzzing following her, but she dared not look back. Quickly, she dove into the water and swam about, looking for somewhere to hide. Finally, she found a large divot dug out of a reef. She immediately squeezed herself inside and lied her body down, finally allowing herself to take deep, calming breaths. But this was short-lived as she heard countless splashes in the water, and soon saw hundreds of dolphins, sharks, and various other sea creatures swim right past her cave. _I had no idea there were so many changelings... _She thought, wide-eyed. As she lied there, exhausted from both the once again stripping of her magic and the chase, she still remained tense as she watched, hoping none of them would notice the cave mouth.

~o~

It took a good bit of time, but eventually, the changelings cleared out, and she could finally start to relax. She exhaled and let her head plop onto the sand. The natural adrenaline now gone from her body, Aria now felt the full weight of the exhaustion, and she felt like she couldn't even move. For a while, she lied there, trying to muster up what little strength she could for her journey back home, when suddenly, she heard a sound. She perked her ears, and she slowly lifted her head. It was clicking. The clicking of a dolphin. Aria internally groaned as she felt dread wash over her. The heard the clicking get louder, getting closer to the cave. Aria huffed as she attempted to lift herself off the sandy floor. Weak as she was, she would not go down without a fight. When the clicking came from right outside the cave entrance, Aria bared her fangs and snarled, darting out of the cave to face the creature. But she was surprised with what she saw.

It was...a _baby_ dolphin.

With glowing green eyes...

* * *

**:I**


	29. Companion

**Sorry for the long freakin' wait. Been so, SO busy here! I've hardly had time to get ANY of my big project done, such as these chapters, and some requests on DeviantArt. It's really frustrating. But here you are now with another chapter. Enjoy, my friends.**

* * *

Aria blinked, and her vicious expression turned to one of surprise and confusion. The little creature looked up at her with wide eyes, looking awestruck. The purple siren had expected something different, and she looked awkwardly at the small dolphin.

"Uh...shoo?" She said, waving a forehoof. The creature just stayed there, staring at her in amazement. Aria sighed and quickly glanced at her surroundings, making sure the coast was clear. She then turned back to the little changeling. Obviously, this thing wasn't going to do anything to her. Not only was it too small to do anything, but it didn't seem to have nefarious intentions. "Okay, kid...what do you want? I'm kind of on the run, here." The small creature blinked, seemingly out of its frozen state of awe. It shook its head, then turned to her with a big grin.

"Whoa, a real _siren_! That's so cool!" It yelped. Aria looked to the side before looking back at it.

"Uh...what?" She asked. The little dolphin chirped.

"The Broodmother never let us out of the nursery while you guys were there, so we never got to see you. We've never seen sirens before, but we heard of 'em!" He then paused and looked at her wide-eyed. "Wow! I just realized that you're awful big, miss! I didn't know you'd be _this_ big!" He said, looking her up and down. Aria scowled.

"I'll choose to take that as a compliment..." She muttered. She then sighed as her gaze softened. "Look, kid, I don't have time for this. I think you should go find your family or whatever before you or I get in trouble. I can't let them find me." She said as she turned around and began heading out.

"Can I come with you?" The unexpected question caused Aria to stop in her tracks with a scoff. She turned back to him.

"_Wh-what_?! _You_? Come with _me_? I don't think so. Go find your family." A look of desperation crossed his face, and he swam up to her.

"Please! It gets so _boring_ in the nursery, and we never get to see outside! I promise I won't be a burden! I can help!"

"But what about the other changelings?"

"I'll go back eventually, don't worry. I just wanna get a bit of _adventure_."

"The outside world is no place for a kid like you."

"I'll have you know that I am an _adolescent_, heh. No kids here!"

"Then why are you still staying in a nursery, eh?" This seemed to stopped the changeling, and he searched desperately for an argument. "That's what I thought. See ya." She said as she began swimming again. But she was stopped when he suddenly swam in front of her. Aria growled, but it was cut short when she saw his face. He was doing...a puppy dog face. She gritted her teeth and let out a low growl. "Kid...I'm warning ya..." He didn't listen, though, and continued. Finally, after what seemed like forever, with an exasperated sigh, she gave in. "Okay, you know what?! Fine!" His expression became gleeful until she put her face inches from his, her eyes glaring daggers at him. "But I won't be held responsible for your safety. So, if you're getting eaten, I'm gonna keep moving." She then paused to let her words sink in. "_We clear_?" The changeling gulped.

"C-crystal..." He squeaked. Aria huffed before turning around sharply and moving on, not even looking back once. _Why do I always get dragged into these situations? Oh, and I'm_ sure_ Adagio will just_ love this... She rolled her eyes. _Not only am I going back after trying to kill them, but I'm also bringing along one of the causes. Lucky me..._

~o~O~o~

Celestia paced in her study, her head lowered and her eyebrows furrowed in thought. If Sonata failed to find her friend and neutralize her, then how would _she_ be able to do so? She had no idea where the fiend was now. There have been no recent reports of her whereabouts. Suddenly, Celestia's head shot up from her brooding when the doors to her study flung open. In rushed a royal guard, his eyes wide with panic.

"Reports of the location of the troublemaker?" She asked before he had a chance to speak. The stallion, panting, shook his head solemnly.

"No, Princess Celestia..." He began. "Something far worse. It appears...it appears Queen Chrysalis is back, and she's headed this way..." Celestia's head jerked back is surprise, and her eyes widened. She rushed past the guard, but she called back to the him.

"Get the troops! Tell them to get ready to fight! We don't know what she has planned, so we need to be prepared for anything!"

"Yes, princess!" He responded with a salute.

~o~O~o~

Adagio, Sonata, and Steven flew through the air soundlessly as they searched for the third siren. Adagio rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Sweet Celestia, where could she be?!" She groaned in annoyance. Sonata looked down at the waves below them.

"Could she be underwater?" She asked thoughtfully. Adagio scoffed.

"What is she gonna do, charm the sea creatures? No, she'd be on the surface invading some town or something." Sonata sighed and looked around, hoping that they'd find her soon.

~o~O~o~

As she swam through the water, Aria rolled her eyes and groaned. The little dolphin behind her had been singing and goofing around nonstop since they headed out. Currently, he was in the middle of a _highly_ annoying song. Aria huffed. _I hate kids..._

~o~

"Hey, miss?" The young changeling spoke up after a while.

"What?" She said in an annoyed tone.

"I'm bored..."

"Not my problem."

"But-"

"Not. My. Problem." She growled. The changeling hesitated before speaking again.

"Miss?"

"What?!"

"I'm tired." Aria just rolled her eyes and ignored him. He sighed and looked at her.

"Mis-"

"Just call me Aria, half-pint." She said with a slight growl. The changeling blinked.

"Oh, okay. Aria?" The purple siren prepared herself for another stupid complaint.

"...What?"

"Why are you so angry?" He asked. Aria blinked in surprise. She had not expected that. She looked back at him with a glare.

"Maybe because a little, shape-shifting creature is tailgating me everywhere and is annoying beyond belief." She said with a nod as if agreeing with herself. The changeling looked at her.

"No, I don't think that's it, mis...err...Aria." He stated. Aria rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well what do you know?" She growled. "You're just a dumb kid." The little dolphin swam up beside her and gave her a thoughtful look.

"Did you lose something...?" He asked. Aria shot him another glare.

"What makes you say that?" She growled. He smiled a bit.

"Well, whenever _I_ lose something, I get angry sometimes. Like you." Aria growled.

"For the last time, I'm not angry!" Then, seeing the little one's knowing smirk and her outburst, she realized that she was, in fact, angry. No, more like pissed. But why? Wasn't this a _good_ time? She's finally heading back home. To her family. So why was she so angry at the moment?

"It's okay to be mad, you know..." The creature chimed in. "Broodmother always told us that." Aria rolled her eyes.

"Yes, well 'broodmother' also manipulated and tried to kill me, so I'm hardly going to take advice coming from her..."

"But why are you mad? Because of what she did?" Aria paused for a moment and sighed.

"I don't think so...I guess I...I kind of always knew what I was doing was wrong...but I never stopped. I guess this is just...karma. I deserved what happened. I'm paying for what I did...and the ones I hurt..." She sighed again as her swimming visibly slowed. The little creature looked at her in concern.

"Is that why you're mad...? Because you hurt the ones you cared about...?" Aria looked away from him, staring at the ground ahead. Finally, after a moment, she sighed and looked back at the changeling, the tiniest of smiles hinting at her face.

"You know...you're pretty smart for a kid."

* * *

**The kind reviews have meant a lot to me from the start, and they're pretty much what keeps this story going! I can honestly tell you all that without the reviews, I would not have the motivation or inspiration to write a single chapter, but because of all of YOU, I can produce this story to all those who like it. So, all I'm asking is...if you really enjoy this story, and want it to continue and at a faster pace, then a small review, even a couple words, would make the biggest difference. Thank you.**


	30. The Calm Before The Storm

**This is where things kick off. Enjoy!**

* * *

.

Everything between these lines happened BEFORE Celestia was told about Chrysalis. The part after that with Aria is what happened AS she was being told (just so you don't get confused with the order and/or timeline).

* * *

As the sun drew lower in the sky, Sonata whimpered.

"Oh, we'll NEVER find her..." She sighed and stared at the ground as they flew. Adagio looked at her sympathetically.

"Don't worry. We'll find her...somehow. We've just gotta keep trying." Sonata didn't seem convinced. The golden siren exhaled and glanced at Steven. The...wolf-dragon...thing...was obliviously flying without worry. She probably didn't even know what they were doing, or that they were even looking for anything at all. She shook her head and looked towards the horizon, watching the setting sun. "Look, how about we stop for the night? We can pick the search back up in the morning." Sonata whined at this and looked around desperately.

"B-but...but..." Adagio gave her a sympathetic smile and put a hoof to her shoulders.

"Sonata..." She said softly. "...calm down..." Sonata tuned to her, eyes wide, and sniffled.

"But...but..." Adagio sighed and nuzzled the blue siren's muzzle.

"Shh...relax..." She offered her a smile. "We'll find her, I _promise_. Now, let's get some rest." With a bit of hesitation, Sonata finally relented, and allowed Adagio to take her down to the ground. They found themselves in an empty, grassy field with no other souls in sight, much to their relief. With a sigh, Sonata curled up tightly, almost as if cuddling herself, and stared at the ground sadly. A moment later, Steven landed beside her and let out a strange-sounding purr as she lied down, snuggling against the blue siren. Adagio sighed and nodded in satisfaction before flying a few meters away and landing on the grass, curling her tail around herself. She looked up at the darkening sky and closed her eyes, exhaling softly. "Oh, where are you, you stupid seahorse...?" She murmured. She opened her eyes slightly and stared at the just barely visible moon, a soft growl emitting from her throat. "When we find you..._if_ we find you...I'll make you wish you'd never met me..." Angrily, she bared her fangs a bit as she lied her head down. She couldn't care less if they ever found Aria or not. The purple siren was practically dead to her. What she did was unacceptable. Unforgivable. But...she wasn't doing it for her. She was doing it for the blue siren who was silently crying herself to sleep.

* * *

Aria sighed as she looked around, a large yawn escaping her. The little changeling beside her was practically already asleep, most likely adventured out for the day. Blinking heavy eyelids, Aria swam forward, scanning her surroundings. Finally, a look of relief crossed her face as she spotted a hollow divot in a coral reef. It looked rather small, however, and she knew it'd either be a tight fit, or it wouldn't be able to fit her at all. Swimming over to it, she poked her head in, testing the size. No. It would only be able to fit about half of her. With a sigh, she left it. She'd normally not care if she slept in acave or in the open, but she had the annoying little squirt with her, and if she slept in the open, no doubt he'd be eaten by morning. She grumbled something incoherent and swam away, looking around half-heartedly.

"Ma'am...?" The familiar small voice came.

"Aria."

"O-oh, yeah, sorry. Aria...?"

"What?"

"I'm-..." His sentence was cut off as he yawned. "...tired..." Aria exhaled slightly as the corner of her mouth turned up slightly in a small, tired smirk.

"Obviously." She sighed and swam further, looking for something, _anything_, that could give them shelter for the night. "Just hold out a bit longer, kid." They continued looking for a good fifteen minutes until Aria could feel herself beginning to nod off as she swam, sort of like, as the humans called it, 'falling asleep at the wheel.' She internally chuckled at this. But this wasn't funny. She'd have to make a decision soon if she couldn't stay awake much longer. And she knew that the changeling would last even less time. A thought crossed her mind, and with how large she was compared to the changeling, it would probably work. If they were to sleep in the open, she could simply just wrap herself around him and keep him hidden. They'd be safer that way. Or...at least _he_ would be. Exhaling heavily, Aria began swimming towards the sandy ocean floor, and the changeling-dolphin followed absentmindedly. Allowing herself to lie on the ocean bed, she beckoned the changeling over, who complied without hesitation.

Lying on the sandy floor, the changeling gave a tired smile towards the siren before closing his eyes. Exhaling and giving one last look up at the rolling waves, she wrapped herself around the little dolphin copycat and lied there for a while, thinking. After no more than a minute, she could hear the quiet snoring of the changeling. She smiled softly. It reminded her of a long time ago, when she was but a little siren, in a cave with Sonata. During a particular thunderstorm. She was so scared, so Aria had wrapped herself around the siren protectively, making her feel safe once again. And she could never forget that, as the blue siren slept, her obnoxious snoring had filled the cave. She hadn't gotten any sleep that night. Bringing herself back to the present, Aria chuckled softly, her smile widening. Oh, how she missed those days. Her smile then turned into a frown. And she had thrown it all away. For what? Power? She scoffed, remembering some advice she'd heard before. 'The higher you are, the harder you fall' and 'It's lonely at the top.' She wished she'd taken it to heart...

~o~O~o~

"Get the troops! Hurry! We mustn't let her through!" Celestia charged throughout the castle, calling a warning to her guards and shouting orders. They had to be prepared for when that damned creature returned. Running through the main foyer and out the doors, she spread her wings and took off immediately, climbing higher in the sky until she got to the lookout of her castle with the telescope. She landed and frantically took the telescope and looked through, looking at the surrounding lands. _Nothing so far._ Suddenly, hoofsteps behind her caused her to whirl around, only to see her younger sister standing there with a worried expression. "Sister!" Celestia breathed in relief. "Have...have you heard?" The blue mare stepped forward slowly.

"Indeed I have. I've come to aid you. What news have you?" Celestia shook her head.

"Only as much as you have, most likely. Just that Chrysalis is on her way here..." She sighed. "Whatever will we do, sister? I do not know if we can hold off another attack from her. We need Shining Armor." She stated. Luna nodded.

"Yes. W-would you like me to retrieve him?" She asked. Celestia exhaled and nodded.

"If you would. It would be greatly appreciated." She said, bowing her head slightly. "And, if you would as well, notify the guards to go out into the city of Canterlot and order the citizens to stay in their homes. We don't want any innocent casualties." Dipping her head a bit, Luna turned, spread her wings, and took flight, flying off to do as she was instructed. Sighing, Celestia turned back to the telescope and looked through, turning it this way and that. Suddenly, it landed on two figures. But neither looked like a large, demented, disfigured pony. They were in the distance, and all she could see were an orange and a blue dot that were getting ever closer. Soon, they became identifiable as none other than the other two sirens. Not the troublemaking one she'd been hoping to find, but maybe these two could be of some use. Unfolding her large wings, she took off from her post and flew off, heading towards them. Time was not on her side, but she needed all the help she could get. If Chrysalis got into Canterlot, she wouldn't be able to trust anypony. No one would. She needed to make sure that that did _not_ happen.

~o~O~o~

Gliding over the different towns proved useless. The two sirens looked and looked, going from town to town, but she wasn't _anywhere_. Adagio was starting to become highly discouraged. Sonata, however, had already been that from the beginning. She was only more so, now. But where the hell could she be?! Groaning in frustration, Adagio turned and began heading in the direction of Ponyville. As unlikely as it was for her to hit the same place again, they needed to check. Where else could she be?! But she stopped in her tracks when the sound of wing beats filled the air. And it didn't sound like Steven's. She heard Sonata gasp, and she turned her head sharply. Flying towards them was none other than Princess Celestia. She heard Sonata whimper. When the Alicorn princess was about a meter away from them, she changed her wing pattern so that each flap kept her in place instead of moving forward. She gave them a look that had a mix of concern, relief, and authority. She heard Sonata let out another small whimper before finally bursting out.

"B-but we still have one more day!" She yelped. Celestia looked at her and shook her head solemnly.

"No, this is not why I've come to you. I hereby relieve you of your search for now. A greater threat is coming, and I need your help." Adagio blinked, then narrowed her eyes.

"What kind of help...?" She questioned warily. Celestia sighed.

"Chrysalis. Perhaps you've heard of her?" Adagio and Sonata both shook their heads. "She's the leader of a group of creatures called changelings, and her and her army are closing in on Canterlot once more." Sonata's ear flicked.

"Once...more?" Celestia nodded. "Yes. And I think you two and your..._dragon_..." She said, motioning to Steven. "...will give us a wonderful advantage. Especially in the final battle. If worst come to worst, with those big, sharp teeth of yours, I may need you to...once and for all...do away with her." She said, her words becoming a bit quieter. It was no secret that Celestia wouldn't come to such terms unless there was really no other way. This must be a real threat, then. With a reluctant sigh, Adagio hesitated before nodding slightly, not leaving the choice to Sonata. In all honesty, the blue siren would probably run at the first sign of a skirmish with a threat like this. So, Adagio knew that this decision was pretty much all her.

"Okay, I'll do it. But on _one_ condition." She said with a slight growl. It was obvious that Celestia was getting a little impatient. As they spoke, Chrysalis was on her way. She needed to hurry. But, regardless, she gave the golden siren her attention.

"What do you want?"

"If we do this for you, then I want more time to look for our comrade." Celestia hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Granted." With a satisfied nod, Adagio exhaled and looked at Sonata, who seemed a bit more pleased. Turning back the way she came, Celestia looked over her shoulder at the two. "Sirens, we mustn't tarry. That scourge on ponykind is on her way, so we must hurry back to Canterlot." Adagio and Sonata nodded, and they began on their way, Steven following cluelessly behind.

~o~O~o~

Protruding from the water, Aria could see those old familiar rocks in the distance. And...she would've probably cried with joy if it weren't for the fact that...the other two were nowhere to be seen. Her eyes widening, she shook her head and backed up.

"Nonononononono..." She whimpered, putting her forehooves to her temples. The little changeling, who was now actually in changeling form, beat his tiny wings as he hovered next to her, looking at her curiously.

"Aria? What's wrong?" He asked, but his question reached deaf ears as Aria's panic grew. She looked around wildly, frantically, but could not see the others. Where were they?! Oh, how she missed the one thing that was actually useful in the human world: technology. A cellphone would be so useful right now... With a whine, Aria looked towards the direction of land. Perhaps...they were there. But why? Well...what other options were there? With a high pitched shriek that only a creature such as a siren could create, she immediately turned and darted off through the air, going as fast as she possibly could. The changelings could still be searching for her, but she didn't care at this point. All she wanted was to get back to the others. To Sonata.

~o~O~o~

Chrysalis stood atop a hill, her eyes glowing green. She looked behind to see her many changelings ready for battle. They had just come from Appleloosa, wreaking havoc on the ponies that lived there. It was only meant to test the power that she now had, and it was successful. She felt giddy at the fact. Next stop: Canterlot. She turned to her subjects, standing proud, her posture tall and filled with confidence.

"Today, my changelings, we come back stronger than before! If we cannot obtain love, then we shall feed on the hate that the lowly pony race feels towards us!" She laughed, almost maniacally. "There'll be plenty to go around! And, as we fight, the hate we consume will make us _stronger than we've ever been_!" She yelled, rearing up. The changelings cheered and began rearing up as well, flapping their wings in anticipation. "Now, my changelings, we feed! Go, go, _go_!" She called, pointing her horn in the direction of Canterlot looming in the distance. A sudden heavy buzzing filled the air as the changelings took off in a gigantic swarm. Chrysalis grinned widely. _Wickedly_. Soon, she'd be the most powerful creature in Equestria, and how close victory was, she could practically taste it. And it...was delicious.

* * *

**Hmm...can they stop her? Will Adagio ever forgive Aria? Will Aria ever forgive herself...?**


	31. Drums of War-Part 1

**Not sure I like how this came out *Shrug* Ah, well. Hope y'all enjoy. This is where the whole story has been leading up to~**

* * *

Celestia stood outside of her castle's doors, staring off into the distance as the wind trailed her mane behind her. She squinted, frowning, her ear flicking ever now and then in anticipation. Luna stood at the tower with the telescope, looking for the oncoming danger. The royal guard stood behind Celestia at the ready, but Shining Armor was nowhere to be seen. He most likely wouldn't be able to make it in time for Chrysalis' arrival. So, they were on their own without magical protection for the time being. The two sirens, who were in pony form, stood next to Celestia, looking out at the distance in a similar way, but Sonata looking a bit more nervous. Steven stood next to Sonata, looking around, wondering why everyone was standing so still and not playing with her. She lowered her ears and sat down boredly with a sigh. Suddenly, a yell came from the tower.

"They're coming!" Luna's voice came, and no sooner had it, did everything suddenly become dark, as if the sun had been eclipsed. They all looked up to see many small, flying creatures in a swarm. So many, that they blocked out the sun. Celestia stood her ground, glaring at the enormous swarm, but the two sirens, and even Steven, backed up a bit as they looked on fearfully. But the changelings stopped short of the group, landing meters away. Then, suddenly, a rather large pony...thing...about Celestia's height landed with a thud in front of them. Celestia took a surprised step back, but maintained level eye-contact with her. The two siren-ponies, however, had to look up at her, eyes wide. And Steven...she just towered over everyone. Chrysalis gave them all an amused, smug smirk. Celestia angrily scraped the ground with a hoof, almost like how an angry bull would, and snorted at the disfigured pony.

"After your last pitiful defeat, you dare show your face back here?" She growled. Chrysalis chuckled darkly.

"As I recall, princess, it was not you who defeated me. Instead, you had to rely on _wittle ponies_ to save you!" She said mockingly. Without warning, Celestia lunged forward, horn pointed down, and Chrysalis counteracted by slamming her own horn against Celestia's, stopping the alicorn in her tracks. They pushed against each other, their horns grinding against one another as they fought for dominance. Celestia took a few small, forced steps forward, pushing Chrysalis back. The demented pony growled before her eyes suddenly flashed, and she began chuckling. "Heheheh...I can feel your wrath, Celestia. Your hatred for me. It...is delicious." She said before suddenly parrying Celestia's horn, pushing the alicorn back a few feet. Before Celestia was able to attack again, this time with her magic, Chrysalis grinned widely and chuckled. "Sorry, Celestia, but this is our day..." She said, slowly lifting herself into the air, the pendant on her neck flashing in the sun. "It is our turn to come out victorious, and with our new-found power, we will be _unstoppable_!" She yelled, and with that, the swarm of changelings charged forward. Celestia shook her head and called an order, and the royal guard did as well, the two armies meeting halfway, turning it into a real battle. Adagio was struck with surprise at how quickly this had gone downhill, and she turned to Sonata.

"Sonata, I'm going to go and try to take down as many as I can. You can stay or fight. It's your choice. Just _be careful_..." She said, nuzzling the blue pony before immediately turning and galloping into the fray. Sonata whimpered softly and backed up, hiding behind Steven. What would she do? Fight? No, she wouldn't last. Even in her siren form. A number of those things could gang up on and swarm her easily. Should she stay here and cower? Probably expected of her, which she was fine with. Sighing, she ducked down behind the dragon, which no one seemed to want to come over and mess with, and curled up, hiding her face with her tail. Steven just sat there with Sonata in the sidelines, watching the fighting with wide eyes, her cat-like pupils flicking here and there.

Suddenly, hoofsteps were heard approaching them. Adagio? Back already? The blue pony looked up, but it was not who she expected. Adagio was in siren form a good distance away, really putting a beatdown on the changelings. No. This wasn't good. Her eyes widened as she saw none other than Chrysalis approaching her directly. The tall, disfigured pony grinned sickeningly as she stalked towards her. Steven growled, causing her to stop.

"Oh, put a muzzle on it, _lizard_!" She barked. Steven didn't stop, though, and she moved to stand between her and Sonata, spreading her large wings as smoke began flaring from her nostrils. Chrysalis backed up a bit. "Out of my way!" Steven turned her body sideways and lashed at the dark pony with her tail. Chrysalis jumped back and growled before her horn began to glow, and a similar green glow enveloped the dragon. Before Sonata knew it, Steven had collapsed and fallen limp to the ground, unmoving.

"_Steven_!" She whined, galloping over to her head. The dragon was still alive, but temporarily paralyzed. She growled as she tried to stand up, but it was useless. Sonata heard hoofsteps directly behind her, and she whirled around. Chrysalis was only a couple feet away now, glaring down at her. "You monster!" Sonata cried. Chrysalis grinned.

"That's one way of putting it..." She said indifferently, before her horn started glowing again. Sonata suddenly felt herself start to be lifted off the ground, and she struggled to be let free. Unfortunately, you can't physically hurt magic, so the point was pretty much void. Allowing herself to go limp, Sonata glared at Chrysalis as the demented pony brought her up to eye level with her. She grinned, fully exposing her fangs. "Heheheh...hello again, Sonata..." The blue pony blinked.

"H-how do you know my name...?" She asked. Chrysalis' grin widened as her form began to slowly morph, and what was left was a familiar elderly-looking pony. Sonata gasped before suddenly starting to struggle again. "_Rgh_, you _bitch_!" She screeched angrily. Chrysalis chuckled.

"Huh. Never took you as one to curse." She said, smirking. "Must be the influence of that stupid purple siren. What was her name again?" Sonata stopped immediately and gasped.

"A-aria?!" Sonata's expression contorted with fear and worry.

"Ah, yes, that was it! Aria!" Chrysalis chuckled maniacally. "She was quite dumb and easy to manipulate~" She bragged. Sonata gained a sort of crazed look in her eyes as she said this. "But that's not even the best part! Those necklaces I offered? Heheh, they were all part of my plan so this could happen." She said, motioning to the battle happening not too far away. Surprisingly, no one had noticed them yet. "Oh, and a little fun fact? Aria is no longer working for me. I ditched her a while ago. Surprisingly, she hasn't turned up with you two yet. After all that time, you think she'd have rejoined you." Sonata shook her head.

"N-no...no!" She yelped fearfully. Chrysalis grinned wider.

"So, that must mean something..."

"No! Don't you dare say it!" She cried, her eyes beginning to water.

"Maybe..." Chrysalis then gave a fake gasp of realization. "...maybe she's _dead_!" The crazed look came over Sonata again as rage began consuming her. With a shriek, Sonata's body began morphing, and she grew larger as her siren form began to take shape. Chrysalis' eyes widened a bit as she tried to keep her magic trained on the creature, but she couldn't hold something of that size, so her horn flickered for a moment before dimming. She took a few steps back as Sonata placed her forehooves on the ground and went eye-level with Chrysalis. She growled fiercely. But the changeling queen stood her ground. "What's wrong, Sonata? Did I..._strike a nerve_?" She questioned, grinning. Sonata snarled at this, and she lunged at her, completely forgetting her fear, but Chrysalis immediately darted out of the way and bolted behind her. When Sonata whipped around to face her, though, she was not looking at a demented bug-pony. Instead, she was looking at...Aria. Her eyes widened.

"N-no..." She breathed. 'Aria' flew towards Sonata with a look of desperation.

"Oh, Sonata, I'm so glad to see you...I've been looking everywhere for you..." She said sweetly. Sonata shook her head and backed up.

"N-no, it's not...it's not _you_!" She growled.

"Sonata, what's wrong? Don't you...love me?" She asked. Sonata's ears lowered.

"I...I...I don't...no...I..." She stuttered, hardly able to comprehend the situation. She gulped. Suddenly, a voice came from behind her.

"Sonata, don't fall for it!" The voice screeched. Then, all of a sudden, Adagio darted past Sonata, straight at 'Aria'. Sonata gasped when Adagio's jaws clamped down on 'Aria's' throat before slamming her into the ground. That's when Sonata snapped out of it, and she looked between Adagio, who was holding 'Aria' down with her jaws still around her neck, and the siren impostor. She was enlightened just then. Aria was far away, most likely. So...there's no way, in any possibility, that this could be. She bared her teeth angrily, going down to where the other two were. Adagio placed a hoof on 'Aria's' side to hold her down as she released her now bleeding neck. "Are you okay?" She asked as she looked at Sonata. The blue siren nodded, her expression more fierce and determined.

"Yeah. She had me for a moment, but now all I see is an impostor with a death wish..." She said darkly, her eyes flitting over to glare at the fake siren. Then, without warning, Adagio let out a pained shriek as 'Aria' snapped onto her leg forcefully. With a snarl, Sonata darted forward and grabbed the impostor by the back of the neck, trying to pull her away. Wincing, Chrysalis released the golden siren's foreleg and began snapping at Sonata. Adagio growled and lunged in, grabbing Chrysalis by her throat. Immediately, the impostor stopped squirming.

"You make one more move, and I bite down..." Adagio growled, her voice muffled slightly. A flash of fear appeared in Chrysalis' eyes before she suddenly grinned.

"How cute. You actually think you can kill me. You must hate me a lot, Adagio. It's so...filling. Now I know why you _sirens like it_!" She yelled as she struggled against the two sirens, which proved easier as their negativity-driven emotions filled her. Whipping her large siren tail around, 'Aria' managed to slam it into Sonata's side, and the blue siren stiffened before releasing Chrysalis and backing away. She winced as she let out a couple coughs before falling to the ground with a thud. Adagio released Chrysalis as well.

"Sonata!" The blue siren turned onto her stomach and hunched over for a moment before vomiting onto the grass and whimpering. Adagio was about to go help her when something large rammed into her side. She gritted her teeth in pain before turning to face the attack, seeing Chrysalis still in Aria's form. Adagio's eyes widened for a moment before she grinned, a crazed look coming over her. "Heheh...heheheheh...Hahahaha!" Chrysalis was finally looking serious, and she growled.

"Why are you laughing?! This fight will obviously end in _my_ victory! The more you hate, the stronger I get!" Adagio chuckled.

"Oh, why should _I_ care? This form you've taken...I just don't think you could've _picked an easier target_!" Feeding off of her own fury that she felt towards the purple siren, Adagio lunged forward, and Chrysalis moved out of the way, but not quick enough as Adagio's fangs clamped down on her tail, and she pulled her back. With a snarl, Chrysalis turned and snapped at Adagio, who responded by quickly timing her attack, clamping her jaws down on Chrysalis' muzzle, and beginning to bite down as the impostor struggled. It didn't take long as Adagio felt her jaws scrape the bone of Chrysalis' muzzle as she bit down harder, and the changeling queen whimpered before suddenly, in a fit of desperation, took her forehooves and dug the pointed tips into Adagio's side. The golden siren growled before letting go and backing up a bit.

Chrysalis' muzzle bled, and looked slightly disfigured as the skin and flesh was torn to the bone. If it weren't for the power of the stone around her neck, she probably would've retreated by now with the damage, but she didn't. Instead, she shook her head, spraying blood droplets everywhere, and glared at Adagio with a crazed look. Chrysalis then darted towards her and, before the golden siren could move, clamped her jaws down on Adagio's shoulder. Normally, a siren wouldn't be able to just break through skin, muscle, and bone in a single bite without much effort, so you can imagine Adagio's surprise as she felt searing pain shoot down her leg as a resounding cracking filled the air, and she lost the ability to move her foreleg. With a shriek, Adagio ripped herself forcefully away from Chrysalis and fell to the ground, writhing in pain. With a chuckle, despite her ruined muzzle, Chrysalis transformed back to her original form and looked at the two downed sirens with confidence and cockiness.

"I told you your hate would only make me stronger..." She muttered, grinning. But this was short-lived as she was blasted off of her hooves, and she landed on her side with a _thud_. She groaned as she went to stand up again, and when she did, she found herself face to face with none other than Celestia. The alicorn snorted angrily as she readied another blast immediately, but Chrysalis counteracted by shooting a powerful blast from her own horn. Celestia evaded it by darting into the air, and shot at Chrysalis. Chrysalis shot again, her magic blast meeting Celestia's halfway. The focal point of the two sparring blasts moving constantly in favor of one to the other. But, unfortunately, Celestia could not stand against Chrysalis along with the negativity she had consumed. Taking a few steps forward, the changeling queen pushed her magic onward, overtaking Celestia's little by little, no matter how hard the alicorn tried.

Adagio lifted her head from the ground, wincing as she did so. Her shoulder was fractured in multiple places, she guessed. Maybe even shattered, and that affected her neck, making it hurt to move it. She'd help, but she knew she wouldn't last with this injury. Suddenly, the blue siren came to mind again, and Adagio snapped her head in her direction, greatly regretting the movement immediately. Sonata was lying on the ground, whimpering and taking small, rapid breaths. Dragging herself over to her, Adagio lowered her ears and nuzzled her muzzle.

"S-sonata...? You...you alright...?" She asked. Sonata opened one of her eyes and gritted her teeth.

"Dagi...my side..." She wheezed. "...i-it hurts..." Adagio looked to Sonata's abdomen, but she couldn't see any visible scarring or injury. She pressed her muzzle against her side, and immediately, Sonata let out a sharp cry. Adagio's eyes widened. Her side felt abnormal...and the bones moved. Her ribs. They were broken. How many, she wasn't sure, but she was almost certain they were pressing on something due to Sonata's rapid breaths and wheezing. Her lungs, perhaps? Lowering her ears further in concern, Adagio frowned and looked back at the magic spar. Celestia was loosing quickly.

"Celestia, don't feel angry or animosity towards her! That's what's making her stronger!" The alicorn stole a quick glance at the siren before closing her eyes and exhaling, trying to forget the horrors that the demented pony had cause in the past. It seemed to work for the most part, but the changeling queen was too strong already, and with a final surge forward, Chrysalis' magic overpowered Celestia, and the alicorn was blown backwards, falling to the ground hard. With a chuckle and twisted grin, Chrysalis walked over and stood over Celestia, looking down on her both literally and figuratively.

"Well, well, well...this looks familiar, doesn't it, princess? This isn't the first time you've failed to overcome me in a magic duel~" She said, pointing her horn at her throat. Celestia lifted her head a bit and glared at Chrysalis.

"You _won't _get away with this..."

"Oh, won't I? This is onl-" Chrysalis was interrupted as she was throw onto her side as none other than Adagio rammed into her. But that was all the poor golden siren could accomplish in doing before losing control and slamming into the ground a few feet away, the strain doing a number on her injury. She gritted her teeth as she lied limp on her side, not even trying to move again. Chrysalis, on the other hand, wasn't faring much better. The sheer size of the siren compared to the changeling queen did a number on her as well. Chrysalis tried to stand, but it proved difficult as her legs shook underneath her whenever she tried. She then began flapping her bug-like wings, a buzzing sound emitting from them as she did so. She lifted herself into the air and set herself on her hooves. After regaining her stability, Chrysalis made her way towards Adagio, planning to finally put that siren in her place.

Standing over the siren, Chrysalis glared down at her. Adagio growled as she glared right back.

"Such a pity..." Chrysalis said. "You and your fellow sirens could've been such an asset to me..." Her horn began to glow. "You just _had_ to get in the way, didn't you...? And now look. Here you are, at my mercy, about to say goodbye to this pitiful world." She grinned, her horn glowing brighter. "Any last words~?" Adagio looked at Chrysalis with pure disdain, but her expression slowly changed to something unreadable before a smirk began finding its way onto her face.

"Yeah." She said smugly. "Look behind you." Chrysalis blinked for a moment at the unexpected words before they suddenly registered, and she whipped around. All at once, she was met with something slamming with incredible force into her, she she flew back, even further than when Adagio had hit her. But before Chrysalis could get up again, a large creature stood over her, glaring down at her with nearly unfathomable hatred. She recognized this creature almost immediately, and blinked in surprise.

"_You_! What are _you_ doing here?! My changelings should've killed you!" Adagio looked at the scene, smiling softly as Aria, the _real _Aria, held Chrysalis at bay.

"You came back..."

* * *

**Hmmm...can Aria stand against Chrysalis? ****Will she and Sonata ever mend their broken bond? ****Will Adagio kick Aria's ass when all of this is over?**

**...Is it even Aria, or just a changeling in disguise? The world may never know...until the next chapter, that is lol**


	32. Drums of War-Part 2

**Only a few more chapters left of this story!**

* * *

Chrysalis growled as Aria towered over her, and the purple siren snarled in return.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't _kill_ you right now…" She huffed. Chrysalis bared her fangs.

"As if you could kill me, whelp." Aria gained an amused smirk.

"Wanna bet~?" She asked, placing a hoof on her throat.

"Indeed I do." She answered before a blast of magic shot out of her horn and hit Aria directly in the face.

"Agh!" Aria backed up off of the changeling queen and rubbed her face with a foreleg. Shooting up, Chrysalis shakily stood on all fours, her head lowered defensively.

"My, my…are we going to make the same mistake as the other two sirens?" She said tauntingly, motioning to Adagio and Sonata, who were down for the count. Sonata had passed out minutes ago, but Adagio was watching the scene with a varying mix of emotions. Aria glanced at the golden siren for a moment before looking back at the queen.

"You underestimate me." She said, a growl accompanying her voice.

"Oh, do I? Let me see, who was the one so easily manipulated? Who was the one who abandoned her loved ones in a lust for power? Who's the one who fell so easily into my trap and then was tossed out to the curb? Oh yes, that was you." She said with the cockiest of grins. "I don't think I could underestimate you if I tried. You're just _too_ predictable." Aria's rumbling growl became louder.

"That's enough outta you!" She snarled. "If you want a fight, then fine! Come and get it!"

"Oh my, this'll be fun~" Chrysalis grinned, stepping forward. She then stopped immediately, and a frown overcame her expression. "Wait…what's this?" She said before looking down and tapping her gemstone with a hoof. "Why can't I feel your hate? What did you do?!" Aria smirked.

"Because I'm not angry with you. I feel no negativity towards you or anyone here."

"But you are obviously angry! I should be able to feel it!" Aria chuckled and shook her head.

"You don't understand siren magic at all, do you?" She said. "It's not a free-for-all. You cannot feed if somepony is only angry at themselves." Chrysalis blinked in disbelief.

"At…_themselves_?"

"Yes. Everything here, this all happened because of me. Therefore, I am the only one to blame. If I'd never accepted your offer, none of this would've happened, and you'd still be in your hovel of a cave." She huffed. "And siren magic only works when there's a dispute. When disharmony is sown between two creatures. It can't come from one creature. So, your little gemstone there? It has no effect on me." Chrysalis seethed.

"Damn you!" She growled. "No matter, though. I can simply take you down with all the negativity I've already stored!" And, with that, a blast of magic shot from her horn in Aria's direction. The purple siren easily maneuvered out of the way and flew at Chrysalis, who responded by shifting back into a siren to match Aria's size. This time, it was Sonata. Chrysalis had figured that a creature was less likely to hit as hard when staring into the face of one they loved. This gave her an advantage in most cases, like when she'd faced off with Sonata. With a growl, Chrysalis flew directly at Aria as well, and they met halfway, ramming into each other at high speed. 'Sonata' began snapping at Aria as the purple siren began doing the same to her. Chrysalis was aiming anywhere she could to injure the siren, but Aria had a specific place in mind. If she could get at that one place, this fight would be over in less than a second, and the threat would be completely diminished.

Aria let out a snarl as she felt the siren impostor's fangs dig into her side, and she forcefully yanked herself away, which she regretted immediately when it ended with a tear in her flesh. With a huff, she glared at Chrysalis, who was hiding behind the face of her former mate. Chrysalis, however, was confused. How come her strategy wasn't working? Aria just kept going at her without hesitation, despite her looking like Sonata. Perhaps she didn't care about the blue siren as much as she thought. Either that, or she's probably the most sensible creature here. Too bad. She could've been a great asset in moving her plans along. She just had to ruin everything, didn't she?

Chrysalis snarled at Aria, who responded by snarling right back as she eyed the shape-shifter's gemstone. There. Quick as a whip, Aria darted forward, aiming towards Chrysalis' chest. But Chrysalis acted on the defensive and snapped at the purple siren when she got close enough. Aria maneuvered out of the way and flew directly behind Chrysalis. When the shape-shifter turned around, she was caught by surprise when Aria immediately lunged for the gemstone embedded in her chest. Adagio's eyes widened as she watched. Of course. Why didn't she think of it before?! The gem holds all of her artificial siren powers. If it were to be removed…

Adagio's eyes then flickered as she looked over and saw none other than a lone changeling just standing there and watching the two fighting as well. What was it doing? Why was it just standing there? And why was it so…small? Adagio growled softly. If that thing tried to make a move, then she'd show it the meaning of pain. With that in mind, she looked back towards the fight.

Chrysalis screeched at Aria as the purple siren snapped at her chest, the impostor using her forelegs to hold her at bay. No. She wouldn't end this way. She had to do something. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of her dear younglings on the ground, simply watching. She breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Child, help me!" She yelled. The little changeling lowered his ears slightly and looked around, making sure it was him that she was talking to. "Now! Blast her! Do _something_!" The changeling was torn. Should he be? Absolutely not. Loyalty to the brood always came first. But he _was_ torn. Should he help his dear broodmother and, in the process, hurt his new friend? Should he not do anything and see how the fight unfolds and, in the process, either watch his broodmother loose or get a scolding and punishment after she wins? What should he do? He looked between the two. The broodmother had kept him in that cave for so long, and he was finally able to get a taste of freedom because of Aria. But broodmother had always protected him. Then again, so had Aria in the time he knew her. Even when she found him to be rather annoying. He took a few steps back. He didn't know who to choose. What to do. Chrysalis growled.

"You imbecile! Traitor! Will you not help your own leader?!" Okay, he knew now. Furrowing his brows slightly in anger, a small blast emitted from his horn. It shot straight out and hit Chrysalis in the side of her head. It wasn't much of a blast, but it sure was a surprising distraction as it gave Aria all the leeway she needed as she finally was able to reach and grab ahold of the gem, causing Chrysalis to shriek in pain as it was embedded in her skin. Quickly, she transformed back to her original form, the stone embedded in her chest now becoming a simple pendant around her neck. Unfortunately, it was still in Aria's mouth, and Chrysalis's eyes widened. "No! Release it!" She cried, shooting a blast from her horn at Aria's face. Aria tried to move out of the way, and she almost did, but her ear got caught in the fire, and it left a hole in it. She groaned slightly in pain before growling in fury at the changeling queen. Immediately, she ripped the trinket off of Chrysalis' neck like nothing and dropped it to the ground. It landed soundlessly in the grass below. Chrysalis was about to fly down to get it, but before she could, the little changeling was on top of it, standing over it protectively. Both Aria and Chrysalis landed on the ground and looked at the changeling.

"There, there, child. Now, do the right thing and hand that over to your broodmother~" She said soothingly and invitingly, as if she hadn't just yelled at him. Aria flew forward a bit.

"No, kid! Don't let her have it!" The changeling stood firm where he was.

"My dear youngling…" Chrysalis cooed, taking a few steps forward. "Do the right thing and hand over that trinket…" The little changeling put a hoof on the gemstone. Chrysalis immediately became a bit angry. "Don't you dare…"

"C'mon, kid. Do the right thing, here. Do you think what she's doing is going to be better for _anypony_?" Aria continued, coming closer. The two were only a few feet away from him. Chrysalis stepped even closer.

"You know you want to give it to me, so just do it _now_." Finally, the changeling growled and shook his head.

"_No_!" And, with that, he reared up before bringing both hooves down on the stone, smashing it to pieces.

"No! How could you?!" Chrysalis cried, lunging at the youngling, but Aria immediately got in her way.

"Don't. Touch. Him." She seethed. Chrysalis backed away. She could already feel her power and energy draining.

"You…this is all _your _fault! If it wasn't for you, I'd already have every creature wrapped around my hoof! You've ruined _everything_! I needed this! _My changelings_ needed this! And now…_now we have nothing_!" After her small rant, Chrysalis exhaled shakily before slumping to the ground, her legs tucked under her and her head hung dejectedly as the last of her energy was drained from her. Aria's body morphed so that she was in pony form, and she slowly walked up to Chrysalis. She stopped when she was directly in front of her, and looked down at her slumped form.

"There's another way, you know. You don't have to bend others to get what you want…" She smirked slightly. "I've had to learn that the hard way…twice." Chrysalis growled and lifted her head to get eye level with Aria.

"There is no other way. We naturally feed off of love. That didn't work. We were cast out. So, we tried to feed of the negativity that everypony just seems to feel for us. Even…even _that_ didn't work. There's no hope for our kind…" Aria was about to speak, but Chrysalis interrupted her. "Look, just leave!" She said with a snarl, tensing up. "Before I bash your sorry face in!" Aria took a small step back, her eyes widened slightly.

"Chrysalis, you don't need to be this way. The ponies in Equestria are very accepting for the most part. If you need to feed on love, then talk to Celestia. Tell her that you regret what you've done. Surely she'll accept you once you've proven you're capable of being good and coexisting. That's what she did for us. If that happens, then you and your changelings would be able to live _among _ponykind, and you can share in _their_ love. It'd be abundant, and you'd never need to worry about anything again. You…and your subjects. What do you say?" Chrysalis blinked a few times before glaring at Aria.

"You wanna know what _I_ say, siren?" She bared her fangs. "I say _rot in tartarus_!" She snarled, leaning forward. "There's no way I will accept defeat and live amongst lesser creatures like _ponies_! Have you forgotten that I still have my entire changeling army behind me?! They'll never side with you, either!" Chrysalis then blinked in surprise as she looked past Aria at what used to be a battle, and was now rows and rows of changelings and royals guards alike watching the scene play out. She growled. "Changelings, what are you doing?! Aid your queen! Attack!" The various changelings looked to one another in silence, some of them buzzing their wings slightly as if a small form of communication. When they did nothing, Chrysalis stood up shakily and glared at them. "Changelings, listen to me! Do as I say! I am your _queen_! Who has protected you all these years?! Who has given you love?! Shelter?! Protection?!_ Me_! So, listen to me now, and kill these impudent sirens!" Again, there was nothing but silence, until one changeling out of the crowd stepped forward.

"My queen..." She began, dipping her head respectfully. "...the purple one is right. All we've ever done is trick others and use their emotions against them. Bending their wills. Why can't we just...live in harmony...and feed off love naturally instead of forcing it. Surely that would be easier, and there would hardly be call for bloodshed..." Chrysalis jerked her head back at the response.

"So that's _it_? You follow me through thick and thin, but a few words from a measly, mediocre siren, and you suddenly have a change of heart?!" Chrysalis took a couple steps back. "How could you betray me like this?!" Aria gave her a stern look.

"They're not trying to betray you. They're thinking about the good of the brood. You're just too arrogant and stubborn to see that!" She spat. Chrysalis snapped her head in Aria's direction and growled.

"You stay out of this! This doesn't concern you!"

"But it _does_ concern _me_." A calm, steady voice came. All turned their heads to see none other than Princess Celestia limping towards them. When she was only about a foot away from Chrysalis, she looked her straight in the eyes. "Queen Chrysalis...by law, I'd have you locked away for all of the misdeeds you have committed against Equestria. But...I am willing to give you a second chance, as I have for Sunset, and as I have for the sirens. Our kinds can form a treaty. A peace between our races, if you will. We can live in harmony. All you have to do...is agree." Chrysalis blinked before furrowing her brows.

"Psht, as if I'd make a pact with _ponies_. I've had enough of Equestria...and I've had enough of _you_." And, with that, she spat on Celestia's face. Slightly disgruntled, Celestia wiped her face with her foreleg before once again looking calmly at Chrysalis.

"So be it. But the path your walking...you'll walk alone." Chrysalis rolled her eyes.

"I doubt that..." She looked to the number of changelings amassed. "Come, my changelings!" Not one moved, and it was completely silent. Chrysalis stamped her hoof against the ground. "Changelings, come!" Again, nothing. "Is there none of you who wish to be sensible?!" Silence. Tired of the lack of response, Chrysalis turned away angrily. "You'll regret this day, you traitorous imbeciles!" Then, they all watched as she suddenly took off without warning and ran off. Aria tried to go after her, but Celestia stopped her.

"It's useless to try to sway her...but I'm sure she'll come around...someday..." Aria sighed and looked as the former changeling queen disappeared into the distance.

"How long do you think it'll take for her to come back with a revenge plan...?" She asked. Celestia looked over to the crowd of soldiers and changelings and huffed.

"Well, without her precious army, it'd be difficult. I don't think she'll be back for a long time..." She then turned to Aria. "Thank you, by the way. We'd never have won this battle if it weren't for you. When you'd fallen to the clutches of greed and a hunger for power once again, I thought you were a good-for-nothing. I now see I was wrong. As long as you don't revert back to that again, then you and I will remain on good terms from here on out." Aria smiled and nodded.

"Thank you, princess. I'll try to be better...now that I see what's really important..." Celestia nodded.

"I sure hope so. I'll leave you to it, now. I need to round up my army and find somewhere for these displaced changelings to live." Aria dipped her head slightly as Celestia walked off, and nearly jumped when she felt a hoof on her shoulder. She whipped around, and her eyes widened when she saw Adagio there, in siren form. Aria immediately transformed back into a siren in case she tried to attack her again. But she didn't. She just stayed still and stared at Aria. And her eyes...they held so many emotions. Too many to count. Finally, the golden siren decided to speak.

"Y-you know, I...I thought I was mad at you. I thought I hated your guts and wanted you dead, but..." Her eyes began to slowly water. "...seeing you again...and after doing what you just did, I...I..." She sniffled slightly and wiped her eye with the foreleg that wasn't hanging at an odd angle. Aria didn't need to hear any more words as she suddenly lunged forward and wrapped her forelegs around Adagio in a tight embrace. Adagio exhaled shakily and put her good foreleg around her in turn. "...oh, I missed you so much..."

"I missed you too, Dagi..." She whispered. "You...and Sonat-" Aria's eyes suddenly snapped open wide, and she released Adagio and looked around rapidly. "Wait, where's Sonata?!" She asked, looking back at Adagio. The golden siren's eyes became downcast, and she turned her head. Aria looked in the same direction, and she saw none other that the blue siren, lying on her side limply. Aria gasped and darted towards her, Adagio following close behind. Aria came to rest next to her, and she nuzzled Sonata's muzzle in an attempt to get her to open her eyes. "Sonata, I'm back...please, Sonata, open your eyes...I'm here...and I'll never leave again..." She said, nuzzling her neck.

"She's...she's passed out. From either pain or lack of air. We need to get her medical treatment." Aria looked up at her.

"L-lack of air? What do you mean?"

"Chrysalis broke a few of her ribs. I'm afraid that maybe a few of them had been pressing on her lungs. Maybe even punctured them. I hope I'm wrong..." Aria whimpered and pulled Sonata close to her before resting her head over her neck.

"Oh...this is all my fault...I'm so sorry..." She whispered before looking up at Adagio. "Will we need Zecora again?"

"I'd say so..." Aria sighed.

"Okay. Can you stay with her?" She nodded.

"I won't leave her side."

"Good..." Aria said as she took off, going in the direction of the striped pony's home.

* * *

**So, now that we're close to the end of the story, what do y'all think? Was it worth the ride? (Probably not, lol)**

* * *

**Extra**

As Shining Armor ran towards the castle, he was stopped by Celestia as she landed in front of him. He dipped his head respectfully.

"Princess Celestia, I got here as soon as I could!" He panted. "Where's the battle?! Where's Chrysalis?! Do you need my shield?!" He asked as his horn began to glow. Celestia chuckled.

"Put that magic away, Shining. You're no longer needed. The threat has been neutralized." She said as she began walking away. Poor Shining Armor was left standing there awkwardly, fumbling for words.

"But...b-but I...traveled so far..." He whined, lowering his ears.


	33. Tying Up Loose Ends

"Not a simple wound. It won't be easy to fix her. But she can start by drinking this elixir." Adagio, who was in pony form, sniffed the bottle that was being handed to her by the weird, striped pony and recoiled. It smelled like sour milk. But, reluctantly, she took it anyway.

"I'll tilt her head up. You pour it down her throat." Aria, who was also currently a pony, offered. Adagio nodded and limped over to the two. As Aria did as she said she would, Adagio carefully pried Sonata's jaws apart and poured the neon purple liquid down her throat.

"And, uh…what, exactly, will this do for her?"

"It will relax her and keep her still, or the bones may move as broken ones will." Adagio dropped the bottle onto the grass and gave Zecora an unamused look.

"Okay, witchdoctor, why do you always rhyme? Why can't you talk like a normal pony?" Zecora chuckled.

"There is a reason to why I rhyme, but that's a story for some other time." She said with a wink. Adagio facehoofed. "But, in seriousness, you should get her home; a place to rest and heal her bones." Adagio was about to snidely comment again, but Aria intentionally interrupted her.

"Is it safe to carry her in her condition…? 'Cause our home is…kinda far away…"

"One holds the neck, and the other holds the tail, a trip home should be easy to prevail." Aria nodded, but Adagio scowled.

"That is really bothering me…"

"Adagio, just drop it. If she wants to talk like that, then let her. It's not like she's speaking a different language."

"She might as well be…"

"Oh, stop being such a drama queen."

"At least I'm not speaking in rhymes like some sorta _weirdo_."

"She's standing right there, ya know…"

"So?" Aria sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Look, can you just help me take her home now? She needs to rest somewhere quiet." Adagio gave one last glance at Zecora before nodding. Both she and Aria morphed into their sirenic forms and grabbed Sonata, with Aria grabbing her neck, and Adagio grabbing her tail. Together, they lifted her into the air. Damn, she was heavy. Aria looked at Zecora and gave her a smile of thanks. The zebra nodded and smiled back as she watched them leave, the large, grey dragon taking off right behind them.

~o~

As Adagio and Aria flew, the purple siren stared at Adagio for most of the time, trying to read what was going on in her head. But her former leader was emotionless, and looked to be deep in thought as her eyes trained on the horizon, yet were slightly downcast. Aria sighed. She knew that Adagio had missed her, but…would she ever accept her back into her family after what she'd done? How she betrayed them? If she could, she'd give everything back. Undo it all. But she couldn't. It's times like this when life teaches you a lesson, kind of like when your parent scolds you and gives you a punishment. Aria had done wrong. She knew that. And she was getting punished for it. And she deserved whatever Adagio chose to do with her. She wouldn't protest. If she could hardly forgive herself, then…how could the others? Especially Sonata…she'd hurt her so badly…so many times…

Aria closed her eyes and sighed. Despite defeating Chrysalis, gaining Celestia's approval, and reuniting with her fellow sirens, all she wanted to do was…disappear. She was so embarrassed. So disappointed in herself. So…ashamed. She could barely bring herself to look Adagio in the eyes. She doubted she could even look at Sonata at all when she woke up. She was too afraid of what she'd say or do. All this worrying…all because she had been stupid. Way to go, Aria. You did it again. You screwed everything up. If not for the fact that she was holding Sonata's neck in her jaws, she'd be grinding her teeth angrily at her own self-loathing. Many might say that such thoughts were 'overdramatic' or 'depressing', but that's just how she felt. And it didn't help that she was carrying one who'd been hurt because of her. Aria squeezed her eyes shut as a single thought crossed her mind.

_Why are you such a screwup?_

~o~

When they got back to that familiar large rock jutting out of the ocean's surface, they landed and lied Sonata gently down, making sure to lie her on the side that _didn't _have the broken ribs. Steven landed near them and began absentmindedly grooming herself, which was now pointless because she didn't have fur. Aria lied down next to the blue siren's head and placed her muzzle against it, emitting a soft purr. A few feet away, Adagio lied down as well and stole a quick glance at Aria before shifting her gaze downward to the rock she was resting on.

"She missed you." She said simply. Aria blinked for a moment before sighing.

"I know."

"She was so sad."

"I know…"

"She cried herself to sleep every night…" This made Aria look up, and she lowered her ears.

"She…did?" Adagio cast a sideways glance at Aria.

"Why wouldn't she? You broke her heart…"

"I know, but…" Aria fumbled for words, but she couldn't find anything to say.

"Aria, I…need to speak with you privately. I don't want her accidentally hearing any of this…" Aria's eyes widened.

"Uh, okay…" She said, a curious expression on her face. Adagio dragged herself to the far edge of the rocks and looked back at Aria.

"Come on." She said before plunging into the water. Aria flew over to the edge of the rocks and, after taking a quick look back at Sonata, dove into the water as well. She followed Adagio down to the sea floor, where the golden siren was waiting patiently. When Aria reached her, she began swimming, and the purple siren swam next to her. Unexpectedly, Adagio did not talk. She looked straight ahead as she swam, and not a peep came from her. Wasn't there something she wanted to talk about? Whatever. Aria decided to start her own conversation.

"So, Adagio, I've been meaning to ask…what happened to your leg?" She asked, looking at the oddly angled limb. Adagio huffed.

"Chrysalis shattered my shoulder."

"Oh…" Aria looked down. "Sorry…" Adagio glanced at her.

"Sirens heal fast, remember? It'll be better in no time."

"But it's shattered."

"Doesn't matter. It'll heal, and that's that. Now to talk about what _I_ want to talk about." She said as she suddenly halted and lied herself down on the sandy ocean floor. Aria cocked her head slightly and lied down next to her.

"What is it…?"

"I want to talk about Sonata." Aria's ears immediately went back. "Ever since you left, she's been heartbroken, sad, unmotivated, and just…not herself. And, normally, I'm a strong siren, but…even _I_ felt down seeing her like that…" She sighed. "I just want you to promise me one thing. If you never keep another promise to me in your entire life, please just keep this one…"

"Wh-what is it…?"

"Please…please don't break her heart again…" She muttered. "Promise me."

"I…I promise. I do. I never meant to before, I just…" She sighed. "…I promise…"

"Good." Aria gave Adagio a curious, if not confused, glance.

"Why…why does that mean so much to you…?" Adagio lowered her ears slightly and looked directly at Aria.

"Because she's fragile." She said in a slightly shaky and intense voice. "And because she's family." Aria looked away.

"Oh…" She said with a sigh. But her ears perked straight up and her eyes widened when the next few words exited Adagio's mouth.

"And because…I used to love her…" Aria's head snapped in Adagio's direction, her mouth slightly agape in shock. The golden siren was staring at the ground between her forelegs, her ears pinned tight against her head. But before Aria could comprehend what she just said and respond, Adagio spoke again. "Heh…I don't need to look up to know what your reaction is…"

"B-but I…when…_what_?"

"When we were younger, Sonata and I used to be closer. We all were. She held my heart, then. I never acted on it, though…" Aria's ears perked further with interest.

"W-why…?" Adagio lifted her gaze to look at the purple siren.

"Because…of you."

"_Me_?" Aria asked. Adagio nodded.

"I could see how close you two were getting. Practically inseparable. Heh…even to this day. I accepted it a long time ago that she was better off with you. You completed each other so perfectly. A grumpy, pompous, seemingly loveless spirit, and a spirit who is kind, generous, joyful, bubbly, and has love to spare. Like two crooked pieces of a puzzle that only fit each other. You know it as well as I do. She needs you…and you need her." Adagio then put her face an inch away from Aria's, an intense glare in her expression. "And while I may not have feelings for her like I once did, I warn you…" She let out a growl. "If you ever break her heart again or fail to appreciate her in any way, you'll be hearing from _me_." She seethed. Aria pulled her head back slightly and nodded with a gulp.

"I-I have no intention to…" Adagio pulled her head back as well and nodded.

"You'd better not…" She said. "Now, w-" Adagio suddenly stiffened, and she bared her teeth, whirling around with a snarl. This startled Aria, and she turned around as well, only to see a familiar little dolphin watching them with big, flashy, green eyes. "A changeling!" She snarled. "Are you a rogue and want to have revenge?!" But before she could do anything, Aria pushed past her.

"Kid!" She said, sounding more happy than she intended. The dolphin chirped happily.

"Hi, Aria! I followed you here!" Aria rolled her eyes with a small smirk.

"Obviously." Adagio shook her head and glared at Aria.

"You personally know this changeling?" Aria nodded.

"He tagged along with me after I was cut off by Chrysalis. He followed me the whole way while I was looking for you."

"Yep!" The changeling answered, his eyes flashing happily. Adagio sighed.

"Alright, then…" She said, lowering her defenses and relaxing once again. She then looked at the changeling. "So, what are you doing _here_?" She asked. "Why aren't you with the other changelings?"

"'Cause I wanted to see Aria again! She's so nice!"

"Hey!" Aria protested. Adagio smirked and casted a sideways glance at Aria.

"Oh, _is she_?" She snickered. The changeling chirped and dove between Aria's forelegs, snuggling against her chest.

"Yep! She's even nicer than broodmother!" Aria rolled her eyes.

"That's not saying very much…" She mumbled under her breath. She then looked down at the changeling, and a small, barely noticeable smile formed on her expression.

"Heheh, didn't know you were _so_ good with kids, Aria." Adagio taunted.

"Ngh…shut up…" She grumbled.

~o~O~o~

Her eye slowly fluttered open, and what met her gaze startled her beyond belief. A face. Inches away from hers. But not just any face. A _changeling _face. With a fearful, high-pitched shriek, Sonata lurched back, but immediately cried out in pain and fell back onto the rocks as a sharp pain in her side made itself known. She whimpered softly and looked at the changeling standing a few feet away.

"Guys, she's awake!" He yelled. Suddenly, she was met with Adagio's soothing voice in her ear.

"Hey, sweetheart. Calm down." She whispered. Sonata lifted her head and looked at the golden siren, who had a small, crooked smile on her face.

"D-dagi…? Why…why is there a…a changeling here…?" Her eyes then widened, and she looked around rapidly. "W-wait, where's the battle?! Is it over?! Did we lose?! Where is everyone?!" Adagio chuckled softly and placed her chin on top of Sonata's head before slowly bringing it down, forcing her to lie her head back down. She then smiled at the blue siren and licked her cheek.

"Don't worry, we won. Chrysalis was defeated. The changelings have abandoned her. They're on our side, now." She then rubbed her cheek against Sonata's comfortingly. "We're home, now…" Sonata blinked and stole a suspicious glance at the small changeling.

"But why is _he_ here…?" Adagio smirked slightly.

"Let's just say that he's…a friend of the family." Sonata lifted her head again and cocked it slightly.

"But _I_ don't know him."

"Well, he's more a friend of Aria's." Adagio said, deciding to drop the small hint, hoping Sonata would pick it up. Thankfully, she did.

"A-aria…?" Sonata's eyes widened. "He's here…and he's a friend of Aria…" She gasped. "Aria's alive?! She's here?!" Adagio smiled in amusement and nodded.

"Indeed she is. Aria, you can show yourself, now." There was a moment of hesitance before Sonata suddenly felt a hoof on her shoulder, and she whipped around. Hovering in the air right behind her was none other than the purple siren herself. Not even caring about the searing pain in her side, she gasped and immediately lunged at Aria, tackling her to the ground. Aria hit the rocks with an _oof!_ Sonata cuddled her body against Aria's and purred deeply, nuzzling her neck happily. Aria chuckled.

"Well, hello there." She said. "That's quite a greeting." Sonata giggled and rubbed her cheek against Aria's.

"I missed you so much, Aria...I feared the worst, and I never thought you'd come back to us, and I...and I..." She suddenly stopped her spastic movements and became still, lowering her ears. "I thought..." She looked down and, as Aria watched, her eyes began to water. "...I thought you were dead..." A small tear rolled down her cheek as she looked at Aria. Aria lowered her ears and gently licked the tear away before nuzzling Sonata's muzzle.

"But I'm not..." She murmured. "I'm here...and I'm never leaving again..." She said soothingly. Sonata gave a soft purr and leaned into Aria. The purple siren cooed softly as she put her forelegs around Sonata and held her close, purring in return.

"Okay, that's enough of an overpowering display of emotion. Sonata, come over here and lie down. You need to be careful." Sonata lifted her head off of Aria's chest and looked at Adagio with a questioning expression.

"What? Why?"

"Because you're injured." Sonata's eyes shifted down to her own side, and she huffed before reluctantly separating herself from Aria and flying over to where Adagio instructed. Aria got up and went over to Sonata, lying down next to her. The blue siren smiled and rested her head on Aria's shoulder. Adagio looked at the purple siren. "You make sure she rests and gets some sleep. I'll be back soon."

"And where are _you_ going?" Aria questioned as she watched Adagio moving towards the edge of the rocks. The golden siren looked at her.

"Hunting, of course. You two must be famished. I know _I_ am." Aria nodded in agreement. Adagio took a quick look at the changeling sitting by before suddenly plunging into the waves. When Adagio was gone, Sonata lifted her head off of Aria and looked at her with the brightest of smiles.

"I'm so glad you came back." Aria smiled and licked Sonata's muzzle.

"Me too." Aria blinked when she suddenly felt something snuggle against her chest. Without needing to look, she knew it was the little changeling again. Ignoring him for now, Aria looked back at Sonata and sighed. "So..." She began slightly awkwardly. "...do...you forgive me? I understand if you don't, but I-" She was interrupted as Sonata pressed the front of her muzzle against the front of Aria's in a sort of human-esque kiss. After a few seconds, the blue siren pulled away and smiled.

"I forgive you. I know you didn't mean to do any of those things." Aria's expression became downcast.

"Oh, Sonata, but I did...I was conscious of what I was doing the whole time...but I thought it was what I wanted..." She looked Sonata directly in the eyes. "...until I saw what was really important...and what would really make me happiest. And that's being with you and Adagio...just like old times..." Sonata tilted her head slightly.

"But in old times, we weren't mates." Aria grinned and nuzzled Sonata again.

"Then I guess that's what makes the present _better_ than the old times." She murmured. Sonata blushed softly and sighed in contentment, leaning against the love of her life.

"I love you, Ari..." She said, her eyelids drooping slightly. Aria smiled, and though she didn't feel comfortable saying such phrases, she knew that Sonata needed to hear it. She deserved to hear it.

"I love you too, Dusky..."

The affectionate display was then suddenly interrupted when a certain dragon happily wriggled her way in between them, having felt left out. Sonata giggled and nuzzled her, the dragon letting out a happy bark-like sound in response. Aria watched this, and she couldn't help but smile as well. Sonata was happy again. And she had made her that way.

_Maybe I'm not such a screwup...after all._


	34. In Loss, There Is Gain

**Sorry for posting this so late, and thank you for your patience. The holidays have kept me busy, and so has school, but this three-day weekend has given me time to _finally _work on the things I want. So, without further ado, here is the LAST chapter of CaD. It's been a fun ride, and thank you to all who have joined me on it, and been here all the way up to this point.**

**The ending of this chapter wouldn't exist without _Spyro dragon hero _here on .**

* * *

_That night, the three **sirens** slept in peace. No worry. No hate. No fear. They were **simply** at peace. All three, Aria, Sonata, and Adagio, slept together in a heap, something they hadn't done since they were very little. It felt so nice, so much so that it almost made them **want** to revisit those times. And Aria felt a warmth in her chest that she hadn't felt since before she could remember. She guessed it could be **nothing** other than love._ Real_ love. The sirens had always had a bond that kept them together, but she couldn't remember actually loving either of them until recently. It was probably likewise for Adagio. **But** Sonata...she just loved everypony. Aria smirked. That blue siren really was something else._

_From a time when she was little, Aria had changed and become more distant. Bitter. She'd learned to hate rather than **love**, to be selfish, and it had hurt the ones around her. And she hadn't cared. But now, so drastic a change it was, that she felt nothing short of love for the other two. For Adagio, she loved her as a leader, comrade, friend, sister. For Sonata, she loved her as dear as one could. Having been turned around twice from the clutches of greed only to come back to these two knuckleheads each time, she felt that her devotion grew, **and** that the three of them were now closer than ever before._

_And, from each other, they all felt the **adoration** that they so long had craved for._

* * *

**One Month Later**

Laughter was all that could be heard as two creatures chased each other through the water. One, colored as blue as the sea around her, giggled and shrieked every time the purple one behind her snapped playfully at her tail as she chased her. Suddenly, the blue one dived straight down, hoping to shake off the purple one.

"Come on, Sonata!" She growled as she changed direction, grinning. "Just stop for a moment!" Sonata giggled.

"Haha, no way, Ari!" She yelped, diving faster, which only made the other pick up speed as well. As the ocean floor grew closer, Sonata suddenly pulled up, but before she could dart out of the way again, Aria was on top of her, pinning her against the ground. The purple siren chuckled and put her mouth next to Sonata's ear.

"Gotcha~" Sonata wriggled slightly, trying to get free, but it was no use. With some effort, she turned onto her back so she could face the purple siren looming over her with a victorious smirk.

"Oh please, I _let_ you catch me..." She mumbled, pouting slightly. Aria rolled her eyes.

"Yeah right." She said, nuzzling Sonata's muzzle playfully. "Quit being a poor sport and just admit it." Sonata huffed softly before allowing a small smile to form on her muzzle.

"Okay, fine...you, the great Aria Blaze, are faster _and __stronger_ than me. Happy?" Aria's smirk widened.

"Very." She stated, getting off of Sonata. The blue siren righted herself and gave Aria a playful glare.

"Pompous jerk..." She muttered. Aria's ears perked, and she whipped her head in Sonata's direction.

"What was that, darling~?" She asked, her features scrunching into a fake snarl. Sonata stiffened before returning the look.

"I said...you're a _jerk_!" She laughed before suddenly darting off again at full speed, this time going straight up. Aria chuckled before following right behind. Sonata burst through the water's surface, Aria coming right after. The blue siren landed on the rocks, and she let out a squeak of surprise when Aria landed on top of her _once again_. Sonata giggled. "Get off, _jerk_!"

"And what if I don't want to?" Aria said, grinning. Sonata smirked.

"Then I'll do _this_!" She exclaimed before craning her head to bite Aria's foreleg. Aria jumped slightly at the unexpected advance.

"So _that's_ how ya wanna play, huh?" She asked, yanking her foreleg out of Sonata's jaws and backing off of her. Sonata got up and turned towards Aria, lowering herself to the rocks defensively. Aria smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Heh, you actually think you can take me on? Don't make me laugh."

"You won't be laughing when _I'm_ done with ya!" Sonata said, growling playfully as her tail lashed at the air. Aria grinned, exposing her fangs as she lowered herself as well.

"Very well, then. We haven't had a good play fight in _years_. Just one thing, Sonata..."

"What?"

"...don't feel too bad when you _lose_!" She growled, grinning. Sonata huffed.

"That's it!" She barked before lunging at Aria, who responded quickly by doing the same.

~o~

When Adagio surfaced, holding some fish in her mouth, the first thing she noticed was Aria and Sonata in a writhing mess of pushing, biting, and growling. She shook her head and ignored them as she settled herself on the far edge of the rocks and set the fish down. With a small, knowing smirk, Adagio crossed her forelegs in a somewhat elegant manner before calling out.

"Girls, I brought food~!" Almost immediately, the sound of tussling stopped, and before she knew it, Aria and Sonata were in front of her, looking down hungrily at her catch.

"Wow Dagi, thanks!" Sonata chirped before grabbing one of the fish, munching on it happily, the previous fight completely forgotten.

"Yeah, thanks!" Aria said, doing the same.

"Of course~" Adagio said pleasantly before her tone suddenly turned. "It's not as if you two would get off your tail fins to hunt once in a while." Aria scoffed.

"Well, it's not like you ever invite us to go along."

"You need an invitation to aid in feeding us?"

"That's not what I mean..."

"Well, it sure sounds like it. Why do I even need to invite you, anyway? Can't you hunt on your own? That's what _I've_ been doing for nearly a month, now. Even when my shoulder was shattered, I still hunted for you two! Sonata, I can understand. She was injured, too. But you were fine, _Aria_." The purple siren, knowing that, once again, Adagio was right, huffed and flicked her ear in slight annoyance.

"Yeah, yeah, alright...I'll start pulling my weight more." Adagio nodded in satisfaction.

"Thank you." Her tone then changed to a much kinder one. "Really." Aria looked up at her due to her tone and gave a small half-smile, nodding in return.

~o~

As Adagio sunbathed on the rocks, trying to keep up her 'physical display,' as she called it, Aria and Sonata were below the waves, continuing their unfinished play-fight, which once again ended with Aria pinning Sonata on her back. She grinned.

"C'mon, Dusky, this is starting to get old." She taunted. Sonata huffed and pinned her ears against her head.

"Well, maybe you're just really heavy! That's why it's so easy for you to pin me!" Aria jerked her head back.

"And what's _that _supposed to mean? You calling me fat?" Sonata then giggled.

"Hehe, maybe~" Aria huffed.

"Says the one who eats more than Adagio and I _combined_." Sonata pouted.

"Shush..." Aria smirked victoriously.

"Exactly~" She said, getting off of the blue siren. Sonata sighed and righted herself once again. "So, we done for now? Finally settled who's better?" Sonata narrowed her eyes at Aria with a half-smile.

"For now~" She said.

"Heh, good~" Aria responded, starting to swim off in a random direction, motioning Sonata to follow. With a happy chirp, Sonata swam up next to her.

"So, where're we going?" She asked curiously. Aria rolled her eyes.

"Don't you remember? Celestia said she wanted us at her castle at midday today. Since it's almost midday, I think we should start heading out, no?"

"Oh, yeeeaaaaah..." She then paused before a shiver rippled through her body. "Do...do you think we're in trouble...?"

"Why would we be? We haven't done anything wrong recently."

"Oh. Right." She paused again. "Uh, shouldn't we get Adagio before we leave?" She asked. Aria scoffed.

"Psht, the old hag knows how to get there. She doesn't need to tag along with us." Sonata scrunched up her muzzle a bit.

"I don't like it when you call her that. We're all the same age, and when you call her old, it makes me feel old...and I'm not old! I'm only four thousand...something...something..." She paused, looking into the distance, thinking hard. After a few moments, she shook her head rapidly. "Oh well, I don't remember!" Aria giggled slightly.

"I don't remember either. That's a lot of birthdays to keep track of. But I _do_ know that we're nearing the five thousand mark."

"You see! I'm still young!" Aria smirked at this.

"But you're old as dirt in mortal terms~"

"Shush, you..." Aria chuckled, leaning over to nuzzle Sonata as they swam.

"But, yes, compared to _our_ life span, we are very young." Sonata smiled brightly at this.

"Yes!" She cheered. Aria smirked at her, beginning to swim towards the surface.

~o~

Hesitating at the castle doors, Aria and Sonata stood in their pony forms, wondering what the princess could possibly want. Aria exhaled deeply.

"Okay, remember, we didn't do anything wrong. Just don't worry, or act suspicious. Act natural. It should all go down smoothly." She said, glancing sideways at Sonata. The blue pony shuddered before nodding, still looking worried. Aria looked to the castle doors before trodding forward, stopping in front of them before knocking her hoof against the entrance. Almost immediately, it opened, revealing two guards. Putting on a brave face, Aria stepped forward, giving the guards a scowl for good measure. "Where's the princess? We came to see her." She said, slightly demandingly. Gotta raise that tough reputation again somehow. One of the guards gave her a slightly intimidated look, but held his bearing.

"Princess Celestia is in the conference room, waiting. You're two minutes late. And...isn't there supposed to be a third one?" Aria scoffed.

"Oh, she'll be here...sooner or later." The guards shared a glance before shrugging.

"Right." The other guard said. "Miss Blaze, Miss Dusk, if you'll come with me." He said, beginning to walk off, the other guard following right behind. It was Aria and Sonata's turn to share a glance before following the two stallions.

As they neared a familiar door, Sonata lowered her ears. The conference room had always made her uncomfortable. Ever since she was brought here not long ago to help plan on how to take down Aria when she had been in her power craze. Ah, memories...

The doors to the room opened, revealing a long table with many chairs, and Celestia sitting in the largest one a the end.

"Welcome, sirens." She greeted with a powerful voice. Sonata trembled slightly, but Aria stepped forward without hesitation, head held high.

"Thank you, Celestia." She said, sounding uncharacteristically proper.

"Come, have a seat." The princess offered. With a nod, Aria began walking over to the seat closest to Celestia, Sonata slinking behind, peeking at the princess worriedly. As Aria seated herself, and Sonata sat next to her, Celestia looked around.

"Where's Adagio?" She questioned. Aria smirked.

"Fashionably late, I suppose." Celestia glowered a bit before turning her attention to the two.

"Well, that's unfortunate, because I have something that I think you three will find quite _dazzling_." She said with a smirk. Aria's ears perked in amusement while even Sonata let out a bit of a giggle at the princess' comical choice of words. Said princess then cleared her throat. "But, in all seriousness and professionalism, we'll have to wait for her. This...is something quite big in your siren standards." She said, offering the two a wink. Aria's eyes widened anxiously. _What could it b-_

"I'm here, I'm here!" A familiar voice was heard from outside of the room. It sounded quite ticked. "Hey, hey, hey, I know how to open a damn door myself! I don't need your lousy unicorn magic! Out of my way!" The doors to the room suddenly swung open, and there stood a fuming orange pony, the two guards from before on the ground behind her. She stormed into the room, glaring at the other two sirens. "You two! I was looking everywhere for you, and I-" She paused mid-rant as she noticed that they weren't alone in the room. Slowly, she turned her head to look at Princess Celestia, who had an eyebrow raised at her. Immediately, Adagio gasped before dipping her head respectfully, beginning to spout off an apology. Celestia interrupted her with a chuckle.

"Now, now, Adagio...there's no need for formalities. We're all friends here." She said with a welcoming smile, motioning to the chair across from Aria. With a gratitude-filled expression, Adagio trotted over to the aforementioned chair and sat down, looking at the princess expectantly. With a nod, Celestia finally began. "Now, you three are probably wondering why I've called you in. I can tell you now that it's nothing bad." An audible sigh of relief could be heard from Sonata. "You see, I've been doing some research on your kind, and I've also been watching your behavior and actions closely." Aria couldn't help but feel a tad violated at hearing that. "I must say that I am very impressed with your progress and reformation. While it wasn't as..._easy_ as I would've hoped..." She said, stealing a glance at Aria. "...I can see that you three are really trying." She smiled. "And, I thought...that hard work and dedication like this...deserves a reward." All three of the sirens perked their ears at this. Reward? Celestia suddenly clapped her hooves together a couple times and, seconds later, a guard carrying a box with his unicorn magic came in through the doors. Aria's ears lowered. Something seemed oddly familiar about this scene, but she shook off the shudders that overtook her as she was filled with the anticipation of knowing what was in that lavish box.

"Princess..." Adagio began. "If I may...I don't see what we've done to deserve a 'reward.'" Aria's eyes snapped to Adagio, giving her a hard glare. _What have we done to deserve a reward?! Everything! We're going against own own siren natures to make these goddamn ponies happy, and we lost everything that makes us sirens! The least we deserve is a measly reward for following the meaningless rules of the pony world like mindless sheep! _Adagio noticed the glare and looked slightly taken aback before turning her gaze back to the princess, who chuckled.

"No need to be modest, Adagio. Plus, I think you'll quite literally be 'singing a different tune' when you see what the reward is." She said with a knowing smirk. The orange pony cocked her head slightly. Then, Celestia took the box with her own magic, with a thanks to the stallion, and sat it on the table, opening the lid. She then turned it so the sirens would be able to see the contents. All three's eyes widened. In the box, on a purple, velvet pillow, lay three golden necklaces, which were adorned with a single, beautiful blue stone in each one. Aria gulped slightly. Was this some kind of cruel humor? Celestia smiled, lifting one of the necklaces from the case with her magic and suspended it in the air. "Now, know that I do not give these pendants lightly. You must promise to stay reformed and meld into our peaceful society, lest I take this power from you and be forced to have you banished once more...and I'm sure that's something none of us want." The three sirens nodded uneasily in unison. Adagio then paused.

"W-wait, you said power. What power would that be? We've lost any that we had." Celestia held the pendant up higher.

"Not power that you have, power that you are to gain. These pendants...are special runes forged by none other than Zecora, the zebra you have met on previous occasions. They..." She then paused with a smirk for dramatic effect. "...will give you your voices back." The sirens gasped. "But, there's a tweak to it. Instead of disharmony and negativity, your voices will soothe and calm all who hear. And, unlike your previous stones, they will _not _require the collection of energy. It provides its own. No more having to feed off of power." Adagio's expression was awestruck as she stared in bedazzlement at the blue stone.

"Whoa..." She said breathily. "So...we'll be able to sing again..." Her expression then turned to a wide grin. "P-princess, that's...thank you, however can we repay you for this?" Celestia chuckled again.

"Nonsense, Adagio. You've already done enough. For your ability to lead the sirens after your return and, despite all the hardships you faced, persevering..." She said, bringing the necklace to Adagio placing it around her neck. "...I think you more than deserve this." She then turned to Sonata, who was still smiling brightly since hearing the news. "And Sonata..." She began again, picking another from the box. "...for never giving up on your friends when they needed you most, even when things seemed impossible." She placed the necklace around the blue pony's neck, who shuddered in delight. "Not many share your unbreakable spirit." Then, the room suddenly became silent as Celestia turned her attention to the last siren without a gem. Aria looked away nervously with a gulp. "Aria." The princess said. The purple pony looked back up at her, lowering her ears submissively. "I think nopony here deserves this more than you." Aria jerked in her seat slightly upon hearing this, her eyes widening.

"Wh-what...?" Celestia smiled warmly.

"You had fallen the farthest, meaning you have had to work twice as hard to be where you are. And that takes a lot of willpower. You had fallen into the clutches of greed and power, even after being offered equality and peace among us. You were desperate. And, in your desperation, you were corrupted. To bring yourself out of that _twice_...and to finally be fully reformed despite everything that has happened once realizing what _really _matters..." She said, placing the necklace around Aria's neck. "...now that takes a strong pony. And siren." She said with a small smirk. "Not everypony is able to reach that clarity." Aria looked down, placing a hoof tenderly on the stone as she intook a shaky breath. A smile formed on her face as she looked back up to Celestia.

"Th-thank you, princess. Thank you so much." Celestia smiled.

"No, sirens. Thank _you_."

* * *

**~~~~~~~~THE END~~~~~~~~**

* * *

**Did anyone catch the secret message up at the top~? *snickers***


End file.
